The Guardian Chronicles I : Pure of Heart
by Ladyhawke Legend
Summary: When word that another seal is about to be broken, the Winchester brothers find they have some unusual allies this time around.  What will Dean and Sam do when they meet hunters that are paid for their work? Which one will truly be pure of heart?
1. Chapter 1: Mythical Mayhem

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the rights to the Supernatural universe or its characters. That honor goes to Warner Bros. and Wonderland Sound and Vision, along with Eric Kripke and associates. I also don't own any of the rights to the John Carpenter's Vampires universe or its characters. That honor goes to Sony Pictures and Largo Entertainment, along with Don Jakoby, John Carpenter, and author John Steakley. I am just borrowing the characters and their mythology for fun and not for profit.

**Author's Note:** This story has been in the works since the fourth season of Supernatural, when I discovered the show and fell in love with it. This story takes place as if it were in the fourth season, so none of season five and the current season six ideas are represented. Dean is back from Hell, Sam is struggling with his addiction and the powers he gets from it, and the brothers are still trying to stop Lilith from breaking the sixty-six seals. Castel and the other angels are part of the story as well. I decided to add in the idea that there are professional hunters out there that get paid to go after supernatural badies. I took the idea from the John Carpenter's Vampires movie based on the book of the same name. I'm using characters from that movie as well. My character of Jade, however, is my own. I hope people enjoy reading this story as much as I did in writing it. I've tried very hard to keep the boys and their friends in character and to be true to the world that Eric Kripke has created. Let me know what you think.

Many thanks to my beta reader dreadedfemale. She has been key in keeping this story true to form and moving at a good pace and with a good flow.

**Rate T: **For language and action violence.

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**Chapter 1**

**Mythical Mayhem**

Sam dared another quick look at the hideous monster that was trying to kill him. At first, in her form as Ariel Hall with gorgeous and enticing golden locks of hair, long and sculpted legs, ample curves, full and thick lips, and shimmering, sky blue eyes, she had turned Sam's head a little; he had to admit that much. It was not surprising that she had turned Dean's head all the way around. She had also come off with enough intelligence and grace that Sam couldn't help but like her too. Ariel had started out being so helpful, knowledgeable, and even kind that Sam had almost fallen under spell like Dean had.

Now, however, the thing in front of him was no combination of a super model-librarian, in any way shape or form. She was a grotesque image of flashing reds eyes, slithering serpents instead of hair, long and sharp black claws, snake-like fangs dripping with saliva, a wildly protruding, forked tongue sticking out between said fangs, and her body was covered in hard, dark, scale-like skin. The only thing still a shade beautiful about her was her golden wings, like one would picture angel wings, soft and feathery.

Sam could also hear her large, reptile-like feet pounding on the ground as she searched for a way to get to him. He and his brother Dean were in the stables of a large and spacious ranch, just outside of the town of Stonehaven, Oregon. It had belonged to the mayor of the town, until Ariel had come in and set up shop. She had bespelled many of the men in the town, allowing her to take over and run it behind the scenes, collecting her trophies here and there, storing them on the ranch property.

"Don't just stand there, Sammy! Do something!" Dean Winchester shouted at his younger brother.

"Whatda think I'm doing, Dean? Sittin' on my ass!" Sam Winchester shot back as he dodged yet another attack from the monstrous creature in front of him. Trying to avoid the brazened claws and the serpent-like fangs was no easy task. "This would be easier if you were helping," he added as a jab at Dean.

Dean rolled his eyes at Sam, which was about the only other part of his body he could move at the moment, besides his lips, for he had been mostly turned to stone. The terrible Gorgon before them had imprisoned Dean thus, so she could make him part of her collect of human statues. The Gorgon wished to let Dean see everything he couldn't be a part of anymore, and she had wanted to hear his screams of torment at the prospect of being her possession forever.

"Well, I'm sorry, Mr.-Smarty-Pants-Little-Brother, but I thought it was _looking _upon a Gorgon's true form that turned you to stone, not _lip-locking_ with one," Dean told him. "Besides, how was I supposed to know that the hottest chick in this podunk, backwoods, little town was our supernatural bad guy?"

Sam scoffed, trying to hide behind a large stable door as the Gorgon lashed out with several of the snakes that made up its hair. "Because once again, Dean, something else besides your brain was doing the thinking," Sam chided him in disgust and frustration. "Gorgons tend to like to pose as beautiful, young maidens. She should have been our _first_ suspect, not our _last_. She was a little too perfect."

"Ha! You said _our_. That means that she had you going too, Sammy."

"Yessss, SSSammy. Don't you find me attractive anymore?"

"No actually, I don't, Ariel," Sam commented wryly to the she-beast.

"Me either. I'll second that," Dean threw his two cents in where he could.

"I'm hurt, Sammy, I truly am," her deep voice drummed.

"It's just Sam, by the way. Dean is the only one that gets away with calling me Sammy," he replied, having to set the creature straight. He hated the nickname with a passion, but he loved Dean, so he put up with it. Dean wouldn't be Dean if he was always trying to find a way to get a rise out Sam anyway.

Suddenly, four sets of fangs sliced their way through the stall door he was hiding behind; the Gorgon's snaked hair obviously the weapon of choice. Luckily, this particular stall didn't have a horse in it, so Sam was able to roll away from the door as it splintered and the fangs protruded out the other side. Sam had a feeling the venom in those things would make him a work of art, like Dean now was. With a pang, Sam sure hoped that killing the Gorgon would reverse her spell on his brother.

Sam came back up on his feet at the back of the stall, looking for a weapon of any kind. The Gorgon had managed to strip him of his shotgun and pistol. Not that they would have really done much good against such a beast; she was practically a demi-god, almost immortal, but not completely. They all had something that could kill them, if one knew what that was.

Sam had thought that he'd figured out how to stop the Gorgon, once they had unmasked her. He had done his researching homework, and according to legend, if she saw her own true self in reflection, she should turn to stone. But when Sam had flashed the little mirror he had hidden in his coat pocket at her, nothing had happened. She had backhanded him so hard that he'd flown across the stable into the stall door that was now pulverized from the snakes that were the Gorgon's hair. In the process he had dropped the little shaving mirror, shattering it into a million pieces.

Finding a large and long pitchfork in the far corner of the horse stall he was in, Sam attempted to defend himself, while working on plan B. He had to stay alive long enough to find her weakness and save Dean. As the Gorgon came at him again with many teeth and her razor sharp claws, Sam used the pitchfork to both block her strikes and repel her away from him. The snakes that where her hair, came at him from two different sides, slithering in to wrap around the pitchfork's handle, and then pulling it right out of his grip. Sam felt her claws scrape across his chest, cutting him deeply. Red blood bubbled out of his skin from four distinct tears, and he cried out in agony as he fell to his knees before her.

"Ready to die, Sam?" the creature bellowed at him.

"Hey, Medusa-lady!" Dean yelled, trying to get her attention. "Yeah, you having the _really_ bad hair day."

"Maybe I sssshould ssssseal up that smart-asssss mouth of yourssss, my precioussssss," the Gorgon hissed.

Dean's eyes widened for a moment, and then he cracked, "At least then, I wouldn't have to taste your crap-flavored lips again, Sea Spawn."

The Gorgon roared at him, leaving Sam to collapse on the ground. She then came to stand within inches of Dean. He blinked, his only show of surprise and a touch of fear. "Maybe I should pound you into dust or break you into so many pieces that there is nothing left of you."

"I'm game if you are, bitch," Dean spat.

Suddenly, Sam came up behind the Gorgon with the pitchfork, thrusting it through her back and up into her chest. The Gorgon howled in pain, stumbling away, hacking and coughing up black blood, growling, and snarling. She pulled the weapon the rest of the way through her body, making horrible whining noises. Once it was out of her, she broke it in half over one of her knees as Sam and Dean watched the hole in her chest miraculously heal itself back up.

"You gotta do better than that, my boy," the monster said throatily, like it was chewing on gravel.

"You got any more bright ideas, Einstein?" Dean snapped at Sam.

Sam was drawing a complete blank, and it was killing him not to be able to figure something what to do. He gulped and weakly said, "Nothin's comin' to mind. I've tried everything Bobby suggested and the stuff the lore pointed out."

"Don't believe everything you read," the she-beast said in a mocking tone, a small smile curving around her fangs. "Now, Dean, you can watch your beloved brother die as you have to stand idly by, unable to do anything to stop it."

"You so much as _touch_ my brother again, and I'll kill you!" Dean proclaimed.

"I'd like see that trick," the Gorgon said this in almost a purr; her snake hair hissing.

She turned back to Sam, ready to go after him for the last time, when the doors leading to the outside the stables banged open with a loud boom that echoed all around those inside. "You've had your fun with these little boys long enough, Ariel," a definitely female voice said from the now open door way. "Now it's my turn, you crusty, old hag."

Sam turned his attention to the sound of the voice, trying to see its owner. Dean acted like he wanted to as well, grunting in frustration when he couldn't. "Whatcha see, Sam?" he eagerly asked.

"Um— I'm— not sure," Sam answered haltingly. "Hold on."

"It's not like I'm goin' anywhere," Dean bit out.

As the Gorgon's concentration centered on the newcomer, Sam backed away from her and moved to get a better view of the front doors, wincing and clutching at the wounds on his chest. He started when he saw a petite, young woman with really dark hair that didn't quite make it down to her shoulders, wearing a long, black, leather coat standing there. Water was dripping off her, from the downpour of rain outside. Sam couldn't tell what color her eyes were because she was half hidden in shadow. He could tell that she had a long and rounded nose, high check bones, and an oval face with a strong looking chin.

"YOU!" the Gorgon raged at the small woman. "I lost you in the steppes of Russia. How did you track me here?"

"Ah—I don't think that would be too hard considering the human statue collection you have out back, dumb nut," Dean commented.

The hideous and terrible creature turned to face Dean again. "I've been very careful in how they've been gathered. Not taking too many at a time, hiding them among real pieces of art. Nothing should have flagged her attention."

"Well, obviously you weren't careful enough," Sam decided to say. "And like picking a town named _Stonehaven_ wasn't a dead give away either," he added caustically.

"Stay out of this, Demon Seed," the dark-haired woman snapped at him.

That statement took Sam aback. He looked at Dean, who could only widen his eyes in disbelief and then confusion in response. Sam opened his mouth, paused, and then closed it again, not sure what to say. Somehow this stranger knew about his little demon blood exposure. _That _was not good.

"Are you here to insult my brother or help us?" Dean shouted out his question

"Shut up, Hell Boy. Nobody asked for your commentary," the leather-coated woman shushed him.

_Crap, she knows about Dean's time in the pit too, _Sam found himself thinking as he shared another "what the hell" look with Dean. _Who is she?_

"You failed to kill me last time, _Interfector_, this time will be no different," the Gorgon snarled and took to the air with a bleating of her golden wings.

_That's Latin word for slayer, _Sam thought, bewildered. _Is she a fellow hunter or something? God, I hope so._

The dark-haired woman stepped further into the stables, and Sam got a good look at her eyes. They were the darkest brown he had ever seen, and her mouth was set in a grim smile. "Unlike, bitches like you, I learn from my mistakes, and never make the same ones twice."

With that said the woman opened her long, black, leather coat, grabbing two lengthy gages of what looked like to Sam to be metal chains. She whipped them out and started swinging them around in the air, faster and faster, like one would a lasso. Then she flung one chain from her left hand and the other from her right hand. Expertly, they caught the Gorgon's upper and lower body, one wrapping around her upper arms and the other around her legs. Water that had collect on the newcomer's clothing and hair sprayed every which way. Sam felt drops splatter all over him.

The creature roared again, straining against her bonds, but stunningly, the small woman held the she-beast, pulling the Gorgon toward the ground, making her lose altitude. Sam realized the dark-haired woman was wearing nice and tight, black leather gloves, giving her a better grip on the chains, and they helped in keeping the chains from ripping into the bare skin of her hands. This woman was very prepared; she appeared to know what she was doing. The whole thing made Sam wonder, but he was also extremely thankful that help had arrived. Small puddles of water were forming in each place the dark-haired woman stepped from the pools of rain her clothing and hair had collected. She wore black combat boots on her feet.

"Get over here, Demon Seed, I need your assistance!" the woman barked at him. "I can't hold this bitch forever. You'll have to kill her."

Sam's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. He looked askance at the dark-haired stranger. "How?"

"Grab the sword from the sheath in the back of my coat. Then cut off her head," the woman commanded through clenched teeth, shifting the weight of the struggling monster from side to side, like one would fly a kite.

"That'll kill it?" Sam asked, shocked at the simplicity of it all. He had another question pop into his mind. "How are those chains holding that thing?"

The woman glared at him, clearly angry and frustrated that he was asking questions and not moving into action. Her face was all hard lines as she spoke. "I'll explain the trick after its dead. Now move it, Winchester!" she demanded curtly.

"You can't kill me, _Protectoris_!" the Gorgon bellowed, vigorously trying to free itself. "I'll turn you all to stone and pound you into oblivion." The she-beast managed to fly upward again, causing the dark-haired woman's combat booted- feet to slide along the stable floor. She turned her heels outward, helping to halt the movement.

_Another Latin word. This one for guardian,_ Sam thought, making him pause.

"Get the damn sword!" the woman growled at Sam. "Hurry!"

Finally, Sam was spurred into action, closing the distance between he and the strange woman quickly. He reached out and his hand brushed a sword handle sheathed in a special holder sewed into the back of her coat. The weapon slid out easily.

"Sweet," Dean commented with a smile in his voice. "Go for it, Sammy. Behead the bitch."

Sam took a quick breath and held it as he turned back toward the ensnared Gorgon. It was thrashing violently, and the dark-haired woman was straining to bring it lower to the ground. She was almost being pulled right off her feet, but she valiantly redoubled her efforts, winding the chains around her wrists, trying to tighten the slack. The tug-of-war going on between the two females was amazing; each was grunting and pulling for all they were worth. The small woman yanked with all her might, going into a squatting position to bring the monster even lower to the ground and to give herself more leverage to keep the creature held there.

As the creature grew nearer to the ground, Sam rushed forward with the short sword in both hands. He brought it back like one would swing a baseball bat, all the way up behind his head and shoulder. The Gorgon roared at him and fought ferociously against the chains that bound her, but Sam ignored that and the ominous hissing of the Gorgon's snakes-for-hair as he aimed for its neck. Ducking five of the snakes as they shot at him, having to go low, then high, then low again, then left, and then right. With the unblinding determination his father had taught him, Sam sliced the blade clean through the Gorgon's neck, tearing through tissue, muscle, and bone. In mere seconds the she-beast's howling and snarling stopped, and its head slid from is perch to drop to the floor with a sickening slop. The body followed soon after with a heavy thud. In the next instant, both the head and body turned to stone; the creature was history.

"Woohoo!" Dean shouted from his imprisoned position. "Way to score a homerun, Sammy!"

The dark-haired woman had moved back, dropping the chains, panting from all her exertions. She stumbled a bit as she found a stall to lean against. Her hair was a wet, messy mass around her face. Sam figured holding the monster like she did, must have taken a lot out of her. Hell, it would have taken a lot of him and he was probably twice her size.

Sam looked at the sword in his hand for a moment, suddenly remembering he had it. He decided it was very cool. The sword reminded him of a Roman short sword with a large, flat blade that was about elbow-to-wrist in length. It gleamed a polished-silver in the low illumination of the stables; at least the parts that weren't covered in black Gorgon blood. _Where in the hell would she get something like this?_ he found himself wondering. Then he turned his attention back to the mystery woman in question.

"Thanks for saving our asses," he managed to say to her, still trying to recover from decapitating the Gorgon. He was breathing heavily and his arms ached from the force he had used. He glanced back at Dean, who to Sam's worry, was still set in stone. "Is he gonna be all right?" he then asked of the dark-haired woman.

She looked up at him, sliding down the stall door to the ground with labored breath. "It takes time for the spell to break, but it will."

"How long?" Dean wanted to know.

"A few hours," she told him, looking his way, briefly.

"Crap," Dean hissed. "You mean I'm gonna be stuck like this for a while?"

The strange woman smirked at him before saying, "I'm afraid so, Hell Boy. You're just lucky the Gorgon liked you enough not to suffocate you. Most of the others won't be so fortunate," she added on a more sour note.

"Great," he growled in complete frustration, his eyes growing hard.

"That's what you get for sticking your tongue where it doesn't belong," the woman chided him, her smirk coming back.

"Oh for the love of —," Dean cried out, but Sam cut him off.

"She's right, Dean," Sam told him, trying not to laugh. _It serves you right, Dean,_ he thought to himself.

"Hahaha," Dean said in irritation. "Laugh it up, Demon Seed."

"Hey!" Sam shot back, equally upset, giving Dean a menacing glare, not liking that nickname one little bit.

"I can sure tell you two are related," the woman commented wryly, amused by the predicament.

"Who asked you?" Dean demanded of her. "Who the hell are you lady, and how did you know how to kill that slimly-assed bitch?"

"My, my, my, such lovely talk about the woman who you were so eager to snog a short while ago," the petite woman said. "The name's Jade Crow by the way," she added.

The more Sam listened to her talk, he thought he could pick on traces of some kind of European accent. It wasn't exactly British, but it something like that. Her speech sounded like it had hints of Italian in it too. At the word "snog", Dean looked at Sam, clearly not understanding its meaning. Sam decided to ignore the look for the moment, just to torment Dean a little; he didn't get to do it very often, and Dean was _always_ doing it to him.

Suddenly, the running footfalls of someone coming up the drive to the stables could be heard. Then there was a sliding and scuffling sound, as if someone was skidding to a halt. Sam saw an average-sized man appear in the open door way carrying what looked like a first aid kit and holding an umbrella. He was dressed in dark clothing; a black, long-sleeved shirt and black pants. "I missed it. Oh damn, I missed it again didn't I?" the man berated himself as he stepped into the stable and collapsed the umbrella.

Jade shook her head in even more amusement and had to stifle her laughter. "Yeah, Padre, you missed all the fun, _again_." Dean mouthed the word "padre?" to Sam, who just shrugged his shoulders as lost as Dean was.

"Well, it looks like you were successful despite my tardiness," the padre said. "But then, you always succeed in slaying your mark. You are very much like your father in that way, J.C.," he added.

As the priest spoke, Sam was looking him over. The man had to be in his late forties to early fifties, his hair was a little long for a priest's and it was a stringy brown with a few streaks of gray showing through. He wore glasses that fit his face well, giving him a very scholarly look. He had oval face with bright blue eyes. His eyebrows were thin, his nose thick and large, and he had a full beard with more streaks of gray in it. Sam noticed that the white priest collar was missing from the man's attire; he thought that was strange.

When Sam and Dean just looked at the two of them dubiously and anxiously, the padre took note of it. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm Father Adam Guiteau, and I see you've meet my partner, Jade Crow. Are you two all right?"

"Not yet," Dean called out, still pissed to be stuck in stone.

"Don't worry, son, you'll be fine in a few hours," Guiteau assured him, and then he turned his attention toward Sam. "How about you? I should probably take a look at those cuts. You don't want to lose anymore blood, and you don't want to risk an infection." The padre walked over to Sam, opening up the first aid kit as he did. "Do you need any medical attention, J.C.?" he then asked of the dark-haired woman.

Jade had found a large bucket that she turned over and had plunked herself down on, leaning her back against the stall door. Sam caught flashes of blue jeans and a black T-shirt under her long, black leather coat. "Nope," was all she said in answer to Guiteau's question.

"You gonna tell us how you knew how to kill that Greek mythology reject?" Sam queried, dying to know what he and Bobby had missed. His mind was reeling with many other questions too. _Who is this woman, really? Why is she working with a priest? Where is she getting all of her information from? Where had all of nifty weapons come from? Is she a hunter, a supernatural slayer like me and Dean? Who trained her, cause its apparent she knows what she's doing?_

At first Sam didn't think Jade was going to respond to him, for she shook her head vigorously, trying to get as much of the wetness of out it as possible and running her glove-covered hands through it. After that, she played with it until it was out of her eyes and face. Finally, she looked over at Sam, as Guiteau examined his wounds. She seemed to be appraising him, looking him over, evaluating him. She stared at him for a long time before she spoke.

"The chains and sword were dipped in the River Styx," she said matter-of-factly. "Its waters are the only think that will weaken and kill a Gorgon."

Sam visibly balked at her explanation, not believing her story for an instant. "The River Styx is a mythical river. It doesn't truly exist. It's made up," he said angrily.

"You wanted to know how to kill a Gorgon. I told you. I don't care if you believe me or not, Demon Seed," she huffed at him. It was obvious that she _did _care that he didn't believe her, however.

"Stop calling me that!" Sam exclaimed, pulling away from the padre, very angry now. He had had it with all of this. "You don't know anything about me lady!"

"_I'm_ not the one with demon blood pumping through _my_ body, now am _I_?" she shot back. "_I'm _not the freak of nature that _you_ are. _I'm_ not an unnatural thing like _you _are."

Sam was shaking, his temper boiling over, ready to explode out of him. "I didn't ask for any of it, you know. I am not a freak!" he yelled, his fists balling up at his sides.

"Jade, stop it," Guiteau admonished her forcefully. "There is no reason to be so rude. We're all on the same side. These boys do a lot of good and you know it. Behave yourself." He then turned back to Sam, trying to calm him down. He spoke in a soft and soothing voice. "You're right, Mr. Winchester, there really isn't a River Styx. There is, however, a real river that runs through Italy that is the basis for the mythical one. It is called Alpheus, and it literally runs partially underground and under the seabed. Hence, the idea that it's a portal or doorway where Earth and the Underworld meet. Because of the way it flows, there are special mineral deposits within the water. Those mineral deposits are useful against many a supernatural being, especially Gorgons."

As Sam took in all the padre was saying he felt his anger fade a little. What the priest was saying made total sense and was much more informative and plausible than they way Jade had explained it. "Okay, I'll buy that," he acceded, "but why couldn't she just have explained it that way?"

"Because, Mr. Winchester, Jade likes to be a pain in the ass, just like her father was," Guiteau told him, glaring at Jade, who scoffed and looked away. "She just can't be nice."

"Well, she better start trying," Dean's voice was full of menace, "or else she'll end up drinkin' her meals through a straw."

Jade looked over at Dean and smiled a contemptuous and condescending smile. "Whatcha you gonna do, Hell Boy, stare me to death?"

"Oh, you'll find out, Twisted Sister, as soon as this damn spell wears off," Dean gruffly told her with a dark look in his eyes.

"Enough! All of you!" Guiteau shouted, apparently the only adult among them at the moment. "We should all be grateful to still be alive. We should think of each other as allies, not rivals."

Sam's eyes got the same dark look in them that Dean had in his. "Then why don't you enlighten us, Father? You seem to know so much about us, and yet we don't know a thing about either of you. How does a hunter hook up with a priest? Who are you?"

Guiteau sigh heavily, running a hand over his face, shifting his glasses back and forth. He motioned for Sam to come back so he could finish cleaning and bandaging him up. "Sit down for a minute, and I'll tell you what you want to know."

"Not a good idea, Padre," Jade growled.

"Then go and report me, J.C.," Guiteau said exasperated. "This day has been coming for a long time. They need to know about us. They need to know that they are not fighting the good fight alone."

"Whatever," Jade spat. "I'm outta here. You can make nice with the amateur, douche bags; I'll be in my jeep." With that she got up off her bucket seat and walked briskly out of the stables; stormed was more like it, her boots clumping as she went. She slammed one of the doors on her way out as well.

"I must apologize for my partner's lack of manners," Guiteau said sorrowfully. "She really is a good girl, but she tries much too hard to be just like her father. He was an ass and a half, but you couldn't help but like the son of a bitch."

Sam blinked slowly and widened his eyes at the priest's language; it seemed out of character for a man of that kind of deep faith. Then he spoke to get Guiteau back on track. "What do you mean that we aren't 'fighting the good fight alone'?"

"You two are trying to stop the demon Lilith from breaking the sixty-six seals and freeing Lucifer from Hell, correct? Working to prevent the Apocalypse?" Guiteau answered Sam's question with some of his own. "We'll so are we."

"And who exactly is 'we'?" Dean asked impatiently.

"The _Vaticanum Protectoris_," Guiteau said with a little flourish.

Sam blanched at the Latin name, translating it instantly to English. "Vatican Guardians?" he said, the disbelief thick in his voice. "As in the Vatican in Rome? As in the Catholic Church?"

"Yes, my son, the one and the same," Guiteau said with a touch of pride.

TBC…

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You guys have gotta let me know what you think. Was this any good? What did you like? What didn't you like? Did it grab your attention? I crave feedback, so please leave me a short review. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2: She Works Hard For Her Money

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the rights to the Supernatural Universe or its characters. That honor goes to Warner Bros. and Wonderland Sound and Vision, along with Eric Kripke and associates. I also don't own any of the rights to the John Carpenter's Vampires Universe or its characters. That honor goes to Sony Pictures and Largo Entertainment, along with Don Jakoby, John Carpenter, and author John Steakley. I am just borrowing the characters and their mythology for fun and not for profit.

**Author's Note:** Here's another installment of my Supernatural story. Let's see how the boys respond to the priest's confession from Chapter 1. Please let me know what you think. I would love to have some feedback. Remember this story takes place in the middle of Season Four, and right now Dean is still stuck in statue form thanks to his smooch with the Gorgon. Thanks!

** Rated T:** For language and action violence.

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**Chapter 2  
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**She Works Hard For Her Money  
**

"You gotta be freakin' kiddin' me!" Dean exclaimed

"Hold on," Sam said, stepping back from Guiteau again, only half patched up. "Are you saying that the Catholic Church has sanctioned hunters that it supports?" Sam's eyebrows were almost up in his hairline, and his face was pinched in utter shock.

Guiteau smiled kindly back at both Dean and Sam. He knew this would come as a surprise to the Winchester brothers. "It's a lot more than that, Sam," the priest told him. "Can I call you Sam?"

Sam could only nod his head, for he had lost his voice. He stumbled backward again, trying to find something to grab hold of. A round support post was just what he needed to keep him up right.

"Define 'a lot more'?" Dean demanded.

"Each Slayer, as we call them, is called to his or her position by the Church, trained, given provisions, weapons, and a salary," Guiteau explained softly.

Dean's eyes just about bugged out of his head. "You guys get _paid _to hunt?" he asked indigently. "It's like your _job _job?"

Sam couldn't believe it either. Here he and Dean had to break all kinds of laws, sneak around, lie, cheat, and steal to support themselves to save lives, to hunt and kill evil, and now to find out that there were hunters out there that were fully funded by one of the largest religions in the world was frustrating.

"Yes, the Vatican Council provides each Slayer team with the means to do their job and also compensates them for their time and effort," Guiteau freely informed them.

Sam had a hard time swallowing that. "Vatican Council? How far up does your support go?"

"Most of the senior Cardinals, and from time to time, His Holiness is in on what some of our teams are up to," Guiteau said carefully, "but most of our work is kept secret and hidden from the public and lesser positioned clergy. His Holiness has to have plausible deniability, like any civic government does of its covert operations."

"How many teams are there?" Sam found himself asking.

Guiteau grew thoughtful for a moment, stepping forward to finish taping Sam's cuts up. "When I first learned of the Slayers, there were only two large, main teams; one in Europe and one here in the States. Those teams mostly went after vampires. It hasn't been until the last few years that all supernatural evil has been targeted. We now have about ten smaller teams worldwide. Jade and I are the only partnership."

"Why the change? And why just vampires at first?" the questions were falling out of Sam's mouth now.

"I guess I should point out to you that not all vampires are the same. You could say there are several different types or species. Basically, they have different origins. The most common kind, the kind that many fictional books have been written about, were an accidental creation by the Church itself, in something like the fourteenth century. An exorcism went wrong and created the first of these types of vampires," Guiteau paused, looking sheepish as he struggled to continue. "The leaders of the Church at the time felt responsible for their creation and vowed to stop their spread, or at least contain it. Thus, the Slayers were born."

Sam was stunned speechless again; this was all new and intriguing information. It was going to take him a while to wrap his head around it all. Sam looked back to Dean again, and they shared a reflective glance.

"How does Jade fit into all this? Why are you two the only partnership?" Dean asked.

"That is a very long and painful story, but I'll tell you the gist of it," Guiteau said, taking a deep breath. He started to clean up the first aid kit. "As you have noticed, Jade is very difficult to deal with, but a very talented and skilled Slayer. She doesn't like working with other people. If she had her way, she would be a lone wolf. She tolerates me because I was a Slayer with her father before he passed away. I knew him very well and that seems like something that comforts her in his absence. Jack Crow was a bastard, but he loved his daughter very much, and she was the one person that he showed any affection to. The Council lets her work on her own, as long as I tag along and keep her out of too much trouble."

"I bet that's a full time job," Dean said glibly.

"Yes, Dean, it is," Guiteau replied honestly with another kind smile.

"What happened to Jade's father? Her mother?" Sam asked out loud. He knew that it was none of his business, but he wanted to know anyway.

Guiteau stood back up with the first aid kit in hand and went and retrieved the umbrella he had left on the stable floor. "Jade should really tell you those kinds of details, Sam, but the short of it is that her mother died giving birth to her—," he paused, hesitating. Then he said, "—as for her father, he died of—lung cancer—smoked one too many cigarettes I'm afraid."

"He didn't die killing vampires?" Dean asked, surprise in his voice.

"Nope," Guiteau told him. Smiling kindly again, he added, "Kind of ironic, huh?"

"I'll say," was Dean's comment as he blinked rapidly a few times.

"Listen, it's gonna to take our cleanup crew a few days to contain and straighten the rest of this situation out," Guiteau went on to explain as he started for the stable doors. "We're gonna set up shop here at the ranch to oversee things during that time. You two might as well stay too; you know, to rest and recuperate. We'd be happy to feed you and give you a place to sleep, if you think you need it. Personally, I think you do, but you're free to make up your own minds. When you do, I'll be up at the main house. Come find me, and I'll get something put together for you." With all that said, the padre exited the stables leaving Sam and Dean to just stare after him.

When the padre was out of earshot, Dean let loose. "Do you believe any of that big pile of horse poop that guy just tried to drop on us?"

Sam slowly turned back around to face his older brother. He shoved his hands in his pockets and took his time in answering the question. In all honesty, he didn't know _what_ to think. This was the one of the biggest bombshells he had been bombard with, and that was saying a lot, considering all that had happened in the last few months. "I—I—I don't know, Dean," was all he could bring himself to say.

"If there really were _paid _hunters out there, don't you think Dad would have heard of them, written about them in his journal? Don't you think that Bobby would have heard of these so called 'Guardians' and mentioned them to us?" Dean huffed, clearly frustrated.

"Since when did Dad tell us everything about hunting?" Sam snapped back. "He kept plenty from us, and you know it. Besides do average Americans know about every clandestine government operation going on around the world? Maybe these people really know how to stay under the radar. Maybe they really know how to cover their tracks."

Sam realized he was playing the devil's advocate here, but he couldn't help but want to believe that Jade and Father Guiteau were the real deal; it would change everything. Stopping Lilith suddenly didn't seem so daunting a task, if there were more people out there trying to thwart her. Just knowing that he and Dean weren't the only ones that were worried about the seals breaking and the end of the world coming was very comforting. It dawned on Sam that he really _wanted_ to believe the padre's story. Sam found himself grabbing onto it like a lifeline, saving him from drowning in a sea of overwhelming sorrow.

"Yeah, and what if they're demons yankin' our freakin' chain?" Dean said ominously, narrowing his eyes again. "What if this is some kind of trap, some kind of elaborate scheme to get us to let down our guard, and then pow?"

"Oh, come on, Dean," Sam declared, now standing right in front of his brother with his hands on his hips. "Do you really think demons would come up with a story this hokey? Do ya?"

"Yeah, Sammy, I do. I think they're desperate enough to do just about anything to distract us or pull us off the playing field. They don't like the way we play the game, so they decide to change the rules."

Sam turned away from Dean for a moment, and then he turned back, his frustration evident in his voice. "Why do you always have to be so cynical? Dude, why do you always look for the bad in things? Why can't you take things at face value?"

Dean hardened his eyes once more, his lips set in a thin line like he was trying to reel in his anger. "Cause it's a lot easier than being disappointed all the time. You gotta admit that every time we trust someone, we end up getting burned."

"What about Bobby or Pamela? They always come through for us," Sam pointed out.

"Two examples, that's all you've got?" Dean scoffed. "How about all the people that have let us down? Cas? Walker? Turner? Bela? Ava? Ruby? Shall I go on?"

"You just had to get a dig in at Ruby, didn't ya, Dean?" Sam growled.

"I still don't get how you can trust a demon, Sammy," Dean proclaimed. "I just don't get it."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Sam snapped again. "You don't trust anybody, Dean. What does that say about you?"

Dean ground his teeth. "That I'm one smart son of a bitch, that's what it says."

"No," Sam told him forcefully, "it tells me that you're one very bitter and broken person, Dean."

"We aren't trusting these people, Sammy! We aren't!"

"I never said anything about trusting them, Dean, but it would be nice to find out more about them, don't you think?" Sam tried a different approach sensing Dean's wrath even through he couldn't move to show it.

"Sorry to interrupt your touching sibling squabble, but the cleanup crew's coming in," Jade's strangely accented voice startled both brothers. "And we don't expect you to trust us, knuckleheads, just get out of our way. We have a job to do here. We work hard for our money." She had come into the stables as silently as a shadow, neither Winchester had heard her. She was standing halfway between them and the main stable entrance.

"Oh, I bet you do, you Milla Jovovich-wanna-be," Dean hissed back.

"Father Adam invited you to stay for God knows what reason, but if you'd be happy to hit the road, don't let the doors smack you in your asses on the way out," Jade said bitterly, ignoring Dean's pop-culture video game babe crack. "I, for one, would be a helluva a lot happier if you left. This kind of stuff isn't for whiny cry babies."

"Excuse me, Little-Miss-Susie-Sunshine?" Dean fire off at her.

"Thought you were waiting out in your Jeep?" Sam all but accused her of spying on them.

Jade barked a short laugh and walked further into the stables, closer to the brothers. "Got bored, Demon Seed," she curtly explained. "Listen if you two losers can't stand the heat, get outta the kitchen. We don't need you here. In fact, wasn't it _me_ that saved _your _wimpy butts? Go rehash your childhood traumas with someone who cares."

"What's your problem, Crow? What'd we ever do to you?" Dean asked in a biting tone.

The Vatican Guardian strolled passed Sam, who watched her intently, through slitted eyes. She came to stand right in front of Dean, smiling cruelly at him. "It's nothing personal to you per say," she informed him icily, "but it's unprofessional amateurs like yourselves that give true Slayers a bad name. You get in over your heads and innocent people die. I've seen it enough times to know what I'm talking about. Leave the supernatural hunting to the experts and make the world a safer place."

"You know nothing about us, Jade. You're judgments are premature," Sam responded quickly to her put-down, hurt evident in his tone and by the frown on his face.

Jade turned her attention and her beautifully dark eyes back to Sam. "Oh, I know _all _about the Winchester brothers and the trail of dead bodies you tend to leave in your wake. It's enough to get a good feel for what you're all about."

"What about all the people that we've _helped_ or _saved_, huh? We do our share of good," Sam defended their track record emphatically. "We've put down a lot of supernatural bad guys."

"And how many more people have you gotten killed in the process?" Jade demanded, looking from one brother to the other. "How many people have you put in harms way because of your inexperience and lack of knowledge?"

Dean jumped back into the conversation. "What makes _you_ an expert? What makes you _so _much better at this job than us? We've been hunters our whole lives. Our dad taught us everything he knew about hunting evil things. And that man knew a thing or two about evil things."

"You're amateurs taught by another amateur," Jade fired back, not fazed by any of Dean's questions or statements. "I was raised by the Catholic Church to be one of its Master Slayers. _My _dad was raised by the Catholic Church to be its Master Slayer. I was trained by professionals, experts in their fields and arts, programs dating back almost a thousand years. Can you say as much, Hell Boy?"

Sam could tell that Dean didn't like Jade's snot-nosed remarks as his brother's eyes widened in consternation. "What kind of pissing contest is this?" Dean demanded in a voice laced with anger. "Just because you have some 'degree' in hunting makes you better than us? Sometimes on the job training gives you twice the experience that learning something from a damned book or studying it in a damn classroom can give you. What gives you the right to look down your nose at us, you vain and prideful, ivy-league bitch?"

Jade still did not react with any emotion to Dean's outburst; she only stared coolly at him. Crossing her arms in front of her she said, "Hunting isn't your job, Hell Boy, it's your hobby. I believe you have to get _paid_ to have a job. Besides," she said snidely, "I was called, _chosen _to be a Slayer. You two and your father fell into. No one with authority gave you permission to go after the supernatural."

Sam was through with this conversation. He got right in Jade's face, towering over, with a deep scowl on his handsome features. "Our mother was killed by a demon, Jade! Right in front of our father, so he had every right to want to hunt the damned thing! He had been trained as a Marine for God's sake! He knew how to fight and be a warrior, all he had to do was retrain his thinking to encompass more than was seen in the natural world. Don't you dare try and downplay or cast that aside! Don't you dare try and sweep that under the rug! We have every right to go after the things that hide in the dark and feed on people! We know what's out there, and we won't sit idly by and let those things hurt and kill people! We're out here, and we're staying out here, on the _job_ until it's done or we're dead!"

Sam surprised himself by the way he was standing up for what he and Dean did and why they did it; for there had been a time when Sam hadn't wanted anything to do with hunting, and he'd left after having a huge blowup with their dad.

"We've sacrificed everything, Crow, everything," Dean spoke up in a low voice, but very clear and distinct. "We've lost almost everything in doing this _job_; our family, our friends, our lives, our souls, a shot at a normal, carefree life, and at times our sanity, so excuse me if I think you are full of so much bullshit! Maybe we weren't _chosen _by some self-righteous holy man to do what we do, but _we_ _chose_ to take on the responsibility once we learned what was truly out there because it was the right thing to do. It was what we _had _to do."

Dean's words finally seemed to silence Jade. Her hard, but lovely face seemed to soften as Sam a watched her intently. To Sam, she appeared to look thoughtful, which he hoped was a good thing. After a few tense moments, she finally spoke again. Her tone was gentler this time as she said, "I never thought of it from that point of view before. I was raised a Slayer from before I could remember. It has been my life from the get go. I—," she hesitated as she backed away from Sam. "I—don't know any other kind of way to live. I never thought of the —cost— of it for others." Her voice was almost a whisper when she finished.

Sam felt his anger drain away as he caught the glistening in her eyes. He believed what she said; it had honestly never occurred to her to look at it from their perspective, to look beyond the surface. She really hadn't ever understood before. "You shouldn't make blanket assumptions about all hunters not affiliated with your organization. Each person is different and each case is as valid as the next. You need to take the time to look deeper into others and their motivations."

"That's not a luxury I have time for or can afford," Jade said, her bitterness coming back, her eyes growing hard again. "It's not in my nature either to be a Dr. Phil or an Oprah Winfrey, sorry." She turned to leave the stables again. Before she got too far she stopped and said, "You might as well take Father Adam up on his offer. We are Christians after all. We should offer you something to eat and a place to sleep, at least for a night."

"Gee, thank you, Mother Theresa," Dean spit out at her generosity.

Jade just shrugged her shoulders in a "whatever" attitude. "You can come up to the main house now, Demon Seed, while you wait for Hell Boy here to crack and peel."

Sam shook his head in the negative. "Thanks, but no thanks. I want to stay here and wait for him to be freed. I don't want to leave him alone. He's my brother, my family, and I want to make sure he's gonna be all right."

"Thanks, Sammy," Dean said gratefully. "I'd really appreciate that."

Jade stared at them for a long time, apparently taking in what Sam had said. Sam swore he saw her eyes soften again as she contemplated something. Then she appeared to steel herself once more, straightening her posture, and shaking herself back to the here-and-now. "Fine by me, Demon Seed. Do whatever you want. Just stay out of the way of our cleanup crew. We'll leave a light on for you back at the main house."

"Sounds good," Sam tried to say in a thankful tone, but it came out more annoyed than gratuitous. "And it's Sam by the way. I'd like you to give me the courtesy of calling my by that name."

Jade glanced back over her shoulder at him. "Whatever, S—a—m," she drew out his name in an over exaggerated way. She was gone a moment later, leaving the two Winchester brothers in the stable as a group of about five people in environmental suits came marching in.

"Oh, gee this is going to be _so_ much fun, Sammy," Dean commented sarcastically.

"Yeah, it sure looks like it," was all Sam said in response.

* * *

Guiteau looked up from his computer as Jade thundered her way into the large and spacious dining room the padre had setup as their command center. The lovely and fragile- looking crystalline chandelier, that had three tiers to it, shook violently as she slammed the front door. Guiteau admired the mesmerizing patterns of rainbow-colored light that the commotion caused to dance around the room for a moment. Then the padre hung his head and sighed.

He didn't have to wait long for Jade to start bellowing. "What in the hell got into you, Adam?" she exclaimed as she came into the light oak and cream colored dining room. The carpet was a nice shade of sea foam green and made her hard steps lighter once she crossed to it from the hardwood floor of the hallway. He winced at her lack of formality and the disrespect of dropping his title. "You had no reason, nor right to blab to those assholes about us like that!" she continue on, her dark eyes flashing her anger. "I oughta smack you where the sun doesn't shine!"

"You ever heard of professional courtesy, J.C.?" he responded with a calm and cool demeanor. He wasn't about to let her get to him; he'd made that mistake with her father.

"'Professional courtesy'?" Jade parroted. "Those two novices couldn't find a hole in the ground even after they'd fallen into it. There's nothing 'professional' about them."

Guiteau was done with her frame of mind. "I don't give a rat's ass what you think or how you feel about them, Jade," he said with quiet authority, not using his nickname for her this time. "They risk their lives every day to make this world safer for those innocent billions who know nothing of the real dangers around them. They are at the heart of the coming battle, and we need them as allies if our side's going to win."

"No, we don't need them," Jade argued fiercely, coming to stand right next to the padre at the long, light oak table with its fancy mint green and cream lacy tablecloth. "They aren't just at the heart of this battle, they are the cause of it. They are the last people we need to be teaming up with. We should elimin—," she was cut off sharply by Guiteau.

"Don't you are say that!" he snapped standing up and startling her with his speed and ferocity. He made her back up a few steps, and even though he was not a large man, he was still taller than she was. "Don't you even think like that! They are fellow human beings, you will treat them and speak about them as such!"

The priest watched Jade's eyes widen in disbelief at his actions and for a moment he actually thought he saw a hint of fear in their dark depths. She covered her reaction up quickly, however, and returned to her snarky attitude. "When did you decided to grow a pair, Padre?" she asked sarcastically.

"The moment I met your father, Jade," he told her, his eyes hardening.

"You're really serious about wanting to work with these douche bags aren't you?" she questioned dubiously.

"Yes, Jade I am," Guiteau said, not relaxing his stance one little bit. "I've been praying for the opportunity to run into them ever since we learned about them last year. I don't believe tonight was a coincidence. Meeting them here, at this time and this place, it's not just dumb luck. We've been led here."

What Guiteau said was true and is was what he believed; his prayers had been finally answered after a long trial of his patience, but he also knew that hitting Jade with the Faith Card was a low blow. He just felt she needed something to help her open her mind up to the positive possibilities of working with others. It wasn't really her mind that needed opening, he knew, it was her heart. He needed to teach her how to trust someone besides him. He'd studied the Winchester brothers enough to know that they were good boys, troubled and misguided at times, but good nonetheless. They needed help, and Guiteau believed he and Jade could be that help. Something spiritual whispered to him this was true.

"You really think He wants us to partner up with a man that has gone to hell and a man who could be part demon?" Jade demanded, still not accepting what Guiteau was saying.

"Yes, I do, Jade, yes I do," Guiteau said in a softer voice with a kinder look in his eyes. "I know it in my heart. This is His will. Exercise some faith; trust in me enough to know what I'm talking about."

Jade turned away from him, her internal struggle evident on her beautiful face. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. Finally, she spoke as she started to leave the room. "My faith isn't what it used to be, Adam. I'll let you have your go at the Winchesters if it means that much to you to get your panties in such a twist. But," she warned, turning back to look at the padre with dark threat in her tone and in her dark eyes, "if they step out of line once, just once, or prove to be the monsters I fear they are, I will kill them. Is that clear?"

"It won't come to that," he informed her with heartfelt sincerity.

He suddenly realized why she was acting so antagonistic and like such a bitch; she was afraid of something happening to him. This caught him by surprise, but at the same time it didn't either. Guiteau had kind of taken her father's place as the one trusted male figure in her life. He understood that she didn't see him as a replacement for her father; no one could ever fill Jack Crow's ass-kicking boots, but Jade did view Guiteau as family. Jade really did care about him, and she wanted to protect him; she had actually let a bond, even though small that it was, form between them. Jade had vowed never to care about anyone again after her father had died. The fact that she had slipped up in that department touched Guiteau more than he thought it would. He felt the tears come to his eyes before he could stop them. He turned back to his laptop swiftly; he didn't want Jade to see his emotion.

He also realized that he, too, viewed her as his family. He would do anything to keep her safe; in fact, Jack had almost made him take a blood oath on his deathbed to do just that. He'd done it out obligation at first, but now he found he was doing it out of love. Jade was the little sister he never had; the family he'd never had. He had to gulp down a lump in his throat. _How did this happen? When did it happen? _

"That's why you're the priest and I'm the Slayer. You can hold onto the dream, where as I have to deal with the reality," Jade reasoned with him.

"You are so much like your father, my dear, it is hard not to picture him in your place, expressing himself in the exactly same way," Guiteau found himself confessing to her.

Jade blanched at his words, blinking rapidly at him for a minute. She took a depth breath and said, "I'll take that as a compliment, Padre." Her voice was softer this time.

"Why do you try so hard to impersonate or imitate him so much?" Guiteau couldn't resist asking.

"Because he was a great Slayer and—," she hesitated, visibly swallowing hard. She tightened her jaw as she tried to reign in her emotions and hide them from him. "And—I—I—loved him," she said brokenly.

Guiteau wanted to take her in his arms and give her a comforting and reassuring hug, but he knew she'd never accept it in a hundred years, and she would hold it against him for a long time. Instead, he shared the insight he was gaining into her thought patterns with her. "You love him so much that you want to kept part of his memory alive in you, don't you? You act like him so you can still feel your connection to him?" They were questions, but he expressed them more as statements of fact.

"Maybe," she said in a whisper. "Or maybe it was being such a tough son of a bitch that made him such an outstanding Slayer. Maybe I want to be that good at this job. Maybe I want to be as good as he was…," she trailed off.

"And you want to be as good as he was because you loved him and because you looked up to him," Guiteau expounded on her admissions. "He was your hero; your rock. You want to embody his strength to be able to go on without him." It all made a lot of since to Guiteau now.

Jade's face contorted as if she were in pain. "Maybe he was my hero at one time, but he left me all alone, Adam. He deserted me when I needed him the most. I will never forgive him for that, and I will not love someone like that again," she said with strong determination in her voice. "I will not trust anyone else, especially these Winchester bastards."

"Well, I'm going to trust them," Guiteau informed her with deep conviction, "whether you do or not, so deal with it, J.C."

"I pray that I'm wrong about them for your sake then," Jade's bitter and angry tone had returned as she spoke, "because if I'm right, you'll probably be joining my father's country club." With that she turned around and stalked out of the room, ending the conversation.

Father Guiteau stayed standing in the beautifully ornate and finely furnished ranch house dining room processing all that he had just learned. He felt for the first time in a long time that there was hope for Jade. He could see that she could be happy once more; that she could learn to love and trust against, despite all her protests. It would just take the right kind of guidance and the right kind of people. He prayed that the Winchesters would fill the later requirement, because if they didn't, he might lose Jade forever. Their betrayal or lack of good character might just send her to a very dark place that she might never recover from. And that would be the worst tragedy of all.

TBC…

* * *

Will they become enemies or allies? Stay tuned. Please click on the review button and drop me a short line about how this chapter hits you. Is this good, bad, somewhere in between?


	3. Chapter 3: On Notice

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the rights to the Supernatural Universe or its characters. That honor goes to Warner Bros. and Wonderland Sound and Vision, along with Eric Kripke and associates. I also don't own any of the rights to the John Carpenter's Vampires Universe or its characters. That honor goes to Sony Pictures and Largo Entertainment, along with Don Jakoby, John Carpenter, and author John Steakley. I am just borrowing the characters and their mythology for fun and not for profit.

**Author's Note:** Let's see how Dean and Sam interact with their new "friends", and what the angels have to say about it. The Vatican Guardians sure know a whole lot about the Winchester boys it seems. Thanks to dreadedfemale for being my faithful beta.

**Rated T:** For language

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**On Notice**

Dean was heaven. The tricked-out shower was pure bliss as far as he was concerned. It was a fully automatic and environmentally-controlled system; all dependent upon what the user wanted. It was even dandier than the state-of-the-art steam shower the bug-infested neighborhood house had had in Oklahoma. Temperature could be set precisely and exactly where Dean wanted it. He had his choice of what kind of pulsating, massaging water hit him as well. The shower also contained a sweet and bad-ass, water-protected sound system, complete with satellite radio. He was taking a lot longer shower than normal; he felt he really needed. It seemed like every time he decided he was done, he'd fine more stone dust in his hair.

After the Gorgon's spell had worn off, Dean had desperately desired a shower. He had literally cracked and peeled, just like Jade had glibly remarked. Dean had first felt the spell breaking when he realized he could move his pinky on his right hand; soon, other fingers became mobile as well. He heard the stone he was encased in break apart with great snapping noises as it started to fall off of him. Gradually, he could move larger parts of his body, like his hands, feet, and eventually his arms and legs.

The only downside Dean saw to the stone disintegration was the powdery sand it left behind. He decided it was like he'd been in a gigantic sandstorm; one that got the sand to go everywhere. It was thick in Dean's hair, his eyes and eyelashes, between his toes, under his finger nails, down his neck, and in all other places sand tended to find its way into. He had felt gritty, grimy, soiled, and downright disgusting. Sam had laughed at him, telling him it would take him days to clean the sand out of all the places it was in. Dean had just glared back at Sam in response.

Now, however, as the velvety water sprayed him, Dean was extremely grateful for the excuse to use the out-of-this-world shower. _Sometimes this job does have its perks_, he thought in pleasure-hazed amusement as he lathered up his body. _The mayor and his wife don't even use regular soap; they have to have some fancy stuff to wash with._ That thought made Dean smile even wider.

He reached out and turned up the volume on the awesome song that was coming in on surround-sound speakers set into the shower wall. "…but I'll take my time anywhere, free to speak my mind anywhere, and I'll redefine anywhere, anywhere I roam, where I lay my head is home...," Dean belted out along with James Hetfield, the band's lead singer.

Dean had found a rockin' heavy metal satellite radio station that happened to share his taste in Metallica music. The current song playing was the third one in a row that they had played; it was _Wherever I May Roam_. Dean started singing right along with it he was in such a good mood. Dean had always liked the song because it mirrored his life so perfectly; he related to the message way too well. He continued in this vein as the song went on, and he thoroughly cleaned his sand-coated body and hair. Dean even did a little air guitar along with the bassist, Jason Newsted, as the musician did his thing with his twelve-string electrical guitar.

After quite a few more minutes of singing and scrubbing to various heavy metal artists, Dean decided he was done. He grabbed one of the forest green towels from its bar as he turned off the water with heavy regret. Dean dried his water-soaked body, and then wrapped the thick and downy towel securely around his waist. He picked up another towel and wrapped it around his head, turban style, like a girl would normally do. He was in such a cheesy mood that he thought it would be fun to play up pretending to live such an extravagant lifestyle. He was also just plain thrilled to be out of his stone prison.

As Dean stepped out of the small apartment-sized bathroom, he immediately knew something wasn't right; he knew he wasn't alone in the richly decorated and plushy master bedroom. It had a large, dark wood, four-posted, king bed with an ornately carved headboard. The spread was a mix of greens going from light to dark in a swirling pattern. The room also contained two matching, dark wood night stands, a dresser, a behemoth entertainment center with plasma screen TV and stereo system, and a writing desk with matching chair.

Dean found Jade sitting in the writing desk chair with her combat-booted feet resting up on the writing desk itself. She had shed her long, leather black coat, and Dean saw that she was wearing tight-fitting blue jeans and a black tank top; Sammy had thought it was a T-shirt. The top had a scooped neck and fit Jade's womanly curves appealingly. Her hair was wet again, which meant to Dean that she must have decided to shower as well. Even though she was an attractive sight to the carnal man within him, he didn't fail to notice the shiny Sig Sauer pistol she had in hear hands.

"I didn't realize I had an audience," he tried to say jokingly, but it worried him that he had just picked up on her presence now. His goofing-off had cost him, and that fact completely killed his upbeat spirits. "And from where I'm standing, it's a real buzz-kill."

"Then next time don't imitate a cat being strangled," Jade mocked him, with a cock of one of her dark eyebrows. The look in her eyes was not amused, but serious and threatening.

Dean bit back an equally sarcastic and mean response; he was slightly offended that she had dissed his singing. He finally settled for a short and curt, "What you want, Crow?" He didn't like the vulnerable position she had him in; his clothes were being washed, and Sam had all their weapons at the moment.

"I would think that having a strange woman in your bedroom would be a commonplace occurrence for you," Jade told him callously.

"Dealing with supernatural skanks has made me more wary," Dean shot back.

"Oh, like with your Gorgon girlfriend?" Jade threw out at him, never actually pointing her gun at Dean, but letting him know she could bring it to bear on him in a heartbeat.

Dean stared at her for a moment, not sure how to reply. It was true; he had let himself have a serious lapse in judgment about Ariel and had almost gotten himself and Sammy killed. "Yeah, well, can't be right all the time," he mumbled, admitting and not admitting his mistake at the same time.

In one fluid motion Jade was on her feet, inches from Dean, her gun in her hand at her side. Even though she had to look up to him, he took a step back from her. "I know all about you, Dean Winchester," she hissed. "I know about your deal with a Crossroads Demon to save Sam's life. I know about your trip to Hell. And," she said dramatically, circling him to come up behind him, "I know what you did while you were there. I know about the torturing you did; the souls you ripped apart."

Despite all his efforts not to, Dean shivered at her words, shame and red hot guilt seizing him. He gulped and tried to distance himself from Jade. "So?" he said with false bravado. "What's it to you?'

"It makes you as bad as the things we hunt," Jade answered bluntly. "But," she paused, circling him once again, like a hungry wolf, "I also know how you got out of the pit. I know that an angel brought you back. Obviously, you're something special to demand the attention of one of God's angels. So it makes me wonder, why, Dean? Why would an angel save the likes of you?"

"I wish I knew the answer to that question," Dean said honestly. "You see angels aren't cute and cubby little cupid dolls. They're total and complete dicks, but seeing as you work for the Vatican, you probably already knew that, right?"

Jade laughed; a hollow sound to Dean's ears. She faced him directly again, standing very close. "Actually, I've never had the pleasure of conversing with a messenger of God, but it wouldn't surprise me if they were dicks," she said candidly.

Her agreement with his assessment of Castiel and Uriel shocked Dean. "What?" he asked dumbfounded. "You actually agree with me? Why?"

"Let's just say, it would fully fit with my view of Heaven and its population," was Jade's less than informative answer.

"But you work for the Catholic Church, the Vatican, one of the world's largest religions," he found himself saying, perplexed; it didn't fit his image of a loyal employee.

Jade smirked at him, and Dean found it incredibly sexy. If it weren't for her gun or her bitchy behavior, he'd be tempted to hit on her. "I may work for the Church, but that doesn't mean I follow the party line," she revealed.

"You mean to tell me that you don't believe in God or the Church's doctrine?" Dean inquired dubiously, his eyebrows now raised in surprise.

"Oh, I know there's a God, but I just don't understand Him or His will very well," Jade openly told him. "I don't have much faith in Him anymore."

"Then why are you working for the Vatican? Why do you follow their orders?" Dean had the same doubts and faith issues that she did, yet she was the so-called Church-trained expert here.

"They raised me, gave me a home, an education, and a purpose," Jade said more softly. "I've seen evil, fought it, and killed it. I know it can't be left to freely canvas the globe. I have proof that it exists. The other side has never offered me any miracles. I do my job for the money and to safe lives, but not for any higher reason than that, if that's what you wanna know. What about you, Dean? Do you believe in God?"

"If you'd ask me that question a year ago, I would have said no straight out," Dean admitted, unsure of why he was doing so, but it might have had something to do with how many of her opinions and thoughts mirrored his own so well. "But, someone has to be up there pulling all the strings. I don't know if it's God or some Angel Fruitcake. Cas isn't exactly forthcoming with intel in that department."

Jade didn't say anything more for some time. Then she swiftly raised the Sig Sauer pistol and pressed the muzzle of the gun into his chest, at heart level. Dean thought about trying to disarm her, but something held him back; he had the feeling she really wasn't going to do him any harm, and it was strangely a bit of a turn on for him. He liked women who weren't afraid to act.

"What is it that you want, Jade?" he now asked her, realizing his voice had grow huskier suddenly as he spoke.

Jade's brown eyes glittered with dark intent. "I came here to issue you a warning," she stated.

"Oh, really?"

"Just like I know all about you, I know all about your baby brother," Jade said menacingly. "I know what he's been up to, the company he's been keeping, and that he's headed down a very slippery slope. He's dangerous, Dean, very dangerous. If you can't keep him under control, then we'll have a big problem."

"Are you threatening, Sammy?" Dean demanded, moving closer to Jade, not caring that the muzzle of the gun was now digging into his chest. His protective nature over Sam was kicking into high gear.

Jade answered with, "It's not a threat, Dean, it's a promise. If you can't be your brother's keeper, then he's finished as far as I'm concerned. I'll be watching you and him. Just thought that I should give you the heads up, stud."

"I'd never let you lay a hand on him," Dean all but growled at her, pressing himself even further into the gun's barrel.

"Then put your foot down on his extracurricular activities with demons," Jade told him fiercely. "He hasn't been honest with you, Dean. Not by a long shot, so I'd watch my back around him."

"This is _Sam_ where talking about," Dean tried to defend his little brother, but deep down he knew that everything Jade was saying was the truth. Sam had been lying about a lot of things lately, keeping a lot of secrets that scared the shit out of Dean. Castiel had warned him about many of the same issues Jade was now harping on.

"He's changed, Dean," Jade said coldly. "He isn't the Sam you can count on. He has let evil influences cloud his judgment." She stepped away, dropping the gun back to her side. The gun muzzle had left a little circle indentation in Dean's chest; it was red and angry looking.

"Says you."

"Just watch him carefully, Dean," Jade admonished one last time, circling Dean again, before she started to move toward the master bedroom door, "because if you don't, you may not live to regret it."

Dean heard her words and wanted to scream at her that was what he always wanted to do with Sam; he wanted to protect him, keep him safe, and keep him innocent. He was relieved that Jade was understanding enough to come to him and warn him, instead of just acting on her instincts. She was giving him the chance to save Sammy, before she took matters into her own hands. That was something at least; she wasn't as heartless a bitch as she attempted to pass herself off as. It also scared him that what she was saying was almost exactly what his dad had told him almost two years ago; if he couldn't save Sam, he'd have to kill him.

Dean was also aware of the way Jade's eyes were wandering up and down his body, and he remembered that he was dressed only in a towel. He suddenly felt self-conscious for some reason. _Is she checking me out?_ his male mind couldn't help but wonder. He knew he was in great shape, muscles toned and tight, his figure lean and masculine, and that most women liked what they saw. But now he had the handprint scar on his left shoulder from where Castiel had gripped him and pulled him from Hell, so it would be a blow to his ego to have a hot chick like Jade not like what she saw.

"I'll keep it in mind," he replied to her last words of caution.

"You'd better," she snapped. Then she started to leave the room, but after only a few steps she turned back to him. She titled her head a little to the right and downward, gazing at him from an angle. "By the way, not a bad physique, Hell Boy," she commented coyly. "Your abs and ass are almost mouthwatering. Makes a girl wonder what your _other _assets are like." With that said, she turned her back on him and sauntered away.

Dean was left standing there dumbstruck. She had just hit on him, before he could hit on her. She had wickedly beaten him to the punch and caught him completely off guard. His mouth was hanging open, but it slowly closed again, curving into a smug smile. _So, the hot action chick likes my bod, well maybe there is a God after all, _he joked to himself. It was nice to know that despite her hard shell, she was human too.

* * *

Now that he was fully dressed in his typical, holey blue jeans, dark green T-shirt and a shade lighter green, long-sleeved, button-down shirt, with his amulet Christmas gift from Sammy, his watch, his ring, and his evil-ass kicking boots, he felt much more like himself. Dean was just finishing up combing through his still damp hair and thinking about food, when he noticed Castiel's reflection in the mirror. It made him jump about five feet.

"Damn it, Cas!" he declared. "We talked about the sneakin' up thing before, dude."

"It is not my fault that you are never paying attention when I choose to appear to you," Castiel said in his deep, gravely, and monotone voice. He was wearing his nondescript suit and his long, tan overcoat.

"That's not the point," Dean said stubbornly. "You need to make some noise or something." He turned around to face the angel, instead of staring at his reflection in the mirror.

"I will bear that in mind," was Castiel's bland response.

"What do you want now?"

Castiel looked around the room slowly and took his time in answering the elder Winchester. Finally, he said, "I've been sent to warn you."

"There seems to be a lot of that going around today," Dean replied, still disturbed from Jade's earlier visit. _Why is everyone picking on me today_, he then thought sourly. _I make one little mistake with a pretty girl and now its kick-me-to-the-curb day._

Castiel didn't appear to have even heard Dean's comment. He merely went on with delivering his message, his blue eyes intense. "We want you to stay away from the _Vaticanum Protectoris_. You are not to work with them under any conditions."

Dean was totally not prepared for that topic to be warned about. He had been thinking Cas was going to tell him about another seal that needed to be protected from Lilith and her demon army. It was a bolt out of the blue to be told to stay away from their new potential allies, especially when they worked for a religious organization like the Catholic Church. Dean thought for sure the angels would be all for the alliance and try and push the brothers into teaming up with the snobs. Instead, Cas was telling him not to work with Jade and Father Guiteau. _That_ piqued Dean's curiosity more than it should have.

"What?" he asked of Cas. "Why the hell not? Aren't we all on the same side here?"

"My superiors did not give a reason, Dean," Castiel said, not really answering Dean's questions. "They only tasked me with warning you about not allying yourself with them. They are considered dangerous."

"Why, Cas? Are you even going to bother to tell me?" Dean moved away from the mirror, closer to the angel. "What wrong with a priest and a hot action chick, huh? I'm all ears for this one."

Castiel just stood stoically, staring back at Dean. "It is not your place to question a commandment, Dean. The priest is a good man, but the girl, she cannot be trusted. The organization as whole also has its share of problems. Just stay away from them. Leave tonight. Go your separate ways."

"And if we don't?" Dean inquired, feeling a rebellious streak coming on. He didn't much like Jade and the padre, but if the angels were getting their panties in a bunch because of the possibility of a team-up happening, Dean was liking the idea more and more. He did wonder, though, about what Castiel meant about not being able to trust Jade. She seemed like the most straightforward person he'd meet in a long time.

"There will be consequences to your actions," was the only thing Castiel said.

"Gee, where have I heard that line before, Cas? Is that supposed to scare me, O Holy One?"

Castiel blinked at Dean for a moment, his only sign of any reaction to Dean's disrespect. "You forget your place, Dean. You have been warned. Stay away from the Vatican Guardians," the angel said ominously, and then he disappeared, like he was never there, leaving Dean to have to stew and fuss about his visit.

One part of Dean felt like he should listen to the messenger—supposedly sent from God—but another part of him wanted to do just the opposite. He was tired of being told what to do without any reasoning behind it. He was sick of following blindly with little information to go on. He was one that never really could do things on faith alone, and this certainly wasn't going to be one of those times.

If the freakin' angels didn't want him and Sam to join forces with the Vatican pricks, well, that was just what he was going to do. Smiling to himself, he grabbed his dad's leather jacket off of the chair it had been resting on and walked out of the bedroom. He was starving, and it smelled like Father Guiteau was cooking up something delicious in the oversized ranch house's kitchen. He was also going to see what the padre thought of working with him and Sammy just to stick it to Cas and his dick-headed friends.

* * *

Sam was researching on his laptop in what was in a guest bedroom, just off the main hall. It was smaller than the huge master bedroom suite Dean had claimed, but then Sam's tastes were never that extravagant. This room was furnished simply with a queen-sized bed with a southwest colored scheme; all deep reds, dark browns, tans, creams, and turquoises. It had a dark wood wardrobe, dresser, and night stand. The curtains matched the spread with the southwestern theme. A picture of a Native American dream catcher hung on one wall, all in reds and golds. It shimmered in the light, like it had glitter applied to it. A small desk and chair took up another wall with a small picture of a gorgeous sunset sitting up above the desk. For Sam, it was comfy and cozy.

One minute he was deep in concentration on what he was looking up on the Internet, and the next minute he looked up and to the side of him to see Jade standing there with a pistol in her hand. He froze for an instant not knowing what to do. He took in her petite form, with her not quite shoulder-length, dark hair and nice curves. He was surprised to see what he had thought was a black T-shirt was in fact a black tank top. She would be attractive if it weren't for her gun.

"Trying to check us out huh, Demon Seed?" she questioned with a quirk of her lips.

"It's Sam, remember?"

"Find anything interesting, _Sam_?"

He shook his head in the negative. "Not really. A few conspiracy nut jobs mention your group in passing, but nothing concrete."

"Good to know our people back home can do their job," she told him, implying that the Vatican covered up well any knowledge of the Guardians' existence.

"Apparently," Sam said, turning around to log out and shut down his computer. "Can I help you with something, Jade?" he then asked, facing her once more. His eyes noted the gun in her hand again.

Suddenly, she punched him in the face so that he fell out of the chair sideways. She was on top of him in a second, straddling him as he lay on the floor on his back. She placed the gun to his left temple and leaned in close to him. It took Sam a moment to realize what had happened.

"I'm going to be keeping a very close eye on you, Demon Seed," Jade hissed at him. "I know all the things you've been up to lately. I know about Ruby and the crap she has been feeding you, literally and figuratively. If you don't start making some different choices and come clean with your brother, I'm going end you. I will not let you turn on the ones you love, no matter how good your intentions started out. The demons are using you, Sam. You need to wake up and see that."

Sam kicked out with his right leg, hitting Jade in her upper thigh and sending her flying off him. She recovered quickly, however, and had the gun trained on him before he could get fully to his feet.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Jade," Sam lied as he stood. "All Ruby is doing is teaching me how to use my abilities to kill demons. That can't be a bad thing."

"Go ahead, keep lying to yourself, and those you call your family and friends," Jade spat at him. "Ruby is doing a lot more than teaching, and you know it, Sam. She is filling you full of poison. Your abilities aren't natural, they're evil."

"I don't really care what you think, Jade."

"Well you should, because if you don't shape up, I'll make sure that you take Dean's place in Hell. Got it, Demon Seed?"

"So noted," Sam said angrily. "You have no right to judge me."

"It's not my fault that you can't see how much of a pawn you are in Lilith's little game," Jade informed him hotly. "If you don't wise up, I will have no choice but to stop you. Just consider yourself on notice." She lowered her gun, but her dark eyes still flashed with deadly intent.

"Fine," Sam said defiantly.

"Fine," Jade parroted and turned on her heel and left Sam standing alone in the room.

Sam was literally shaking he was so mad. Both his hands were balled up into tight fists at his side. He was holding his breath trying to get control of himself. He finally let the air out of his lungs in a big whoosh. The tears came a moment later, just a glimmer of wetness, but there nonetheless. Jade's words stung him and stung him deeply. Part of him wanted to scream and rant at her just how wrong and stupid she was, but another part of him was terrified she might be right. Dean had warned him about using his abilities too. At least she had given him the courtesy of warning him before she decided to try and kill him. Maybe he could find a way to prove to her that he wasn't what she thought he was.

_But what if they're both right about me? _Sam thought to himself. _What if what I'm doing is wrong? What if I'm choosing the wrong path? _But then, Ruby's face swam into view, and he heard her voice. _If you want to beat Lilith, you're gonna have to make some hard choices; choices others might not agree with. You need to be strong, Sam. You can't back down now._ As those warring thoughts ran through his head, Sam felt more lost and alone than ever.

TBC…

* * *

How did this chapter go over? Are the guys in character? Castiel? How does the Jade know so much about the Winchesters and why? Let me know what you think. Just a short little note would be very welcome. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4: A Convergence

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the rights to the Supernatural universe or its characters. That honor goes to Warner Bros. and Wonderland Sound and Vision, along with Eric Kripke and associates. I also don't own any of the rights to the John Carpenter's Vampires universe or its characters. That honor goes to Sony Pictures and Largo Entertainment, along with Don Jakoby, John Carpenter, and author John Steakley. I am just borrowing the characters and their mythology for fun and not for profit.

**Author's Note:** A new crisis is about to befall the Winchesters. Maybe their new friends can help. We'll have to see. Bobby pops up in this chapter, so you'll have to let me know if I've got him in character. Thanks to dreadedfemale for beta reading for me. She rocks!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**A Convergence**

The rain clouds had mostly cleared away. The sun was almost ready to cast its golden rays, signaling the dawn. Dean was busy wolfing down a stack of hotcakes, a pile of hash browns, a gob of eggs, and several strips of bacon. He was downing some hot and black coffee as well. Father Guiteau had rustled up some very good grub. Dean was dead tired, his body needing sleep desperately, but hunger had won the battle of primary needs to be met at the moment. He hadn't seen Sam in a while, and he figured that his little brother had picked sleep over food for the time being.

_Typical Sammy, _Dean thought to himself, shaking his head.

Jade had plunked herself down at the long oak table in the ranch house's massive kitchen. The Vatican Slayer was sitting across from Dean at the table, shoveling the food in as fast as Dean was; matching him bite for bite, almost. Dean couldn't help but admire a woman with an appetite to match his own. Jade had obviously fought off sleep to fill her stomach just like he had. Not a lot of talking was going on at the moment, for even the padre was eating hardily. The silence was surprisingly a comfortable one, however, until the priest decided to break it.

"Traveling sure gives me an appetite," Guiteau commented as he set his fork and knife down to pick up his napkin. He then proceeded to thoroughly wipe his mouth with it.

"Tell me about it," Dean found himself jumping into conversation easily. "I get the worst case of the munchies just sittin' in the car." He spoke around a mouthful of food.

Jade said nothing, but the padre offered one of his warm smiles. "You feeling better, son?" he then asked Dean.

"Just peachy," was the elder Winchester's reply.

"Glad to here that," Guiteau told him sincerely. "You were one of the fortunate ones."

"Meaning?" Dean said with an edge to his voice, pushing for a more detailed explanation.

Guiteau cleared his throat before he answered. "Out of the twenty men that the Gorgon had collected, only the mayor and two sheriff's deputies are alive. Some of our people moved them to a Catholic hospital for treatment and to monitor them. They were starving and very dehydrated. And then, of course, there was you."

"Those odds suck," Dean proclaimed. "I wish we could've figured out the whole mess sooner." His voice was heavy with regret.

Guiteau took a sip of his coffee. The sympathy was apparent in his eyes. "I feel exactly the same way. I'm just glad that you boys showed up and distracted the monster long enough until the cavalry came."

Dean could have taken the padre's statement as an insult, but deep down he knew the priest actually meant it as a compliment. Dean decided to grab onto the praise where he could. Now if Jade had made the comment, he would have come back at her with some smart-assed remark.

"Some monsters are harder to kill than others," Dean admitted. "Somehow we got our lore mixed up or went to the wrong sources for information. It won't happen again."

"Talk's cheap," Jade finally weighed in as she scraped her plate clean.

"Oh, we'll do more than just talk, Crow," Dean told her fiercely.

"Let's hope so," she shot back at him as she stood and took her plate across the room to the sink to rinse it.

Dean couldn't help but let his eyes wander down and admire her firm and round behind as she turned her back to his position. He also couldn't help but notice the gun holsters around her waist and down both of her thighs with two Sig Sauers in them. "Weren't you the one that said something about learning from their mistakes while fighting the Gorgon? Hypocritical much?" he threw out to her.

Jade tuned back around to face him after washing her dishes off and placing them in a fancy chrome dishwasher. "In my experience, most people are just talk," she said harshly.

"Well, Sam and I aren't most people," Dean informed her around another mouthful of food. He was just about full.

"We'll see," was all Jade said as she closed the dishwasher back up.

Dean again decided to accept that as a good thing; Jade wasn't dismissing the possibility entirely. He wondered silently why he was being such an optimist today; usually that was Sammy's department. "You will," he told her. Then he focused his attention on Father Guiteau. "You obviously know a lot about us. Care to share anything about yourselves?"

Guiteau sipped his coffee some more, looking thoughtful. "I thought I had spilled the beans pretty well earlier. What else do you want to know?" This earned him a dark glare from Jade.

"Well, for starters, how do you know so much about Sam and I? What we do, I mean? All that we've been through?" Dean questioned.

Instead of Guiteau answering, however, it was Jade that did. "We've felt it important to have intel on all the hunters and slayers we might run across. It pays to know who are potential enemies or allies. Knowledge is power after all."

"Or potential competition," Dean couldn't help but add.

Guiteau interjected himself back into the conversation. "You have to realize, Dean that no one can know of our existence. We have to be able to operate without the general public's knowledge. Surely you can understand that? Not all hunters can be trusted."

"Ain't that the truth," Dean confessed, thinking back to all those hunters that had betrayed them or gone after them as if they were the bad guys. "But you're trusting us with your secret," he added this as more of a statement than a question.

"Yes," Guiteau said simply.

"For now," Jade said at the same time.

_At least she didn't say no, _Dean thought to himself with amusement. _Maybe I'm rubbing off on her. Cracking that steel armor of hers._

"That still doesn't explain how you know what you know," Dean said out loud.

"Yeah, I'd like to know the answer to that question too," Sam said from the entrance to the kitchen. He was showered and dressed now as well in his usual white T-Shirt with a nice, long-sleeved, button-down, blue collared shirt. He had jeans on and was holding dark tan jacket was in his hands.

"Mornin', Sammy," Dean said in a mock-cheerful tone. "Did you sleep well?"

"No," was all Sam said in reply as he found himself a seat at the table.

He chose one far away from Jade. She had come back over to the table, but was standing behind her previous seat, not sitting in it. Dean didn't fail to notice Sam's hesitance and jerky movements at seeing Jade. He wondered what had happened to make Sam so skittish. Most people probably wouldn't be able to tell Sam was, but Dean knew his brother very well, and Sam was spooked by Jade.

"Hungry, son?" Guiteau asked, side-stepping Dean and Sam's inquiry.

"Famished," Sam told him, eyeing the plies of food that were still on the table.

"Then help yourself to some breakfast, Sam," the padre instructed.

Dean was not about to let the previous discussion drop so easily, while Sam grabbed a plate and started to heap large amounts of food onto it. "So, do you have a network of spies or something to dig up all of your information for you? Something like a Vatican MI6 or what?" he put forth.

Guiteau suddenly got a guilty look on his bearded face. "Something like that," he said awkwardly.

"Really?" Dean asked wide-eyed and a little excited. He had been totally joking when he made the MI6 crack, and the idea was kind of a scary one, but a cool concept at the same time.

"We like to refer to them as researchers and librarians, but some might call them informants and moles," Guiteau elaborated. "I actually started out as one of the Vatican's chief researchers. I spent my time pouring over old records and keeping new ones up to date."

"Until my dad came along," Jade put in quietly. Dean watched her whole demeanor soften as she spoke. He was starting to get the impression that she looked up to her father as much as he himself looked up to his own. It was another interesting similarity he liked.

"Yes, J.C., you're father definitely pulled me out of my books and out into the field," Guiteau said seriously, but then his expression brightened, "and I thank God every day that he did so."

Dean watched in amazement as the corners of Jade's full lips actually pull up into a small smile as Guiteau talked. It was a very stunning sight; she was kind of sexy looking when she smiled. _She must really admire her dad, _he thought. _I can so totally relate to that. Dad was one of a kind too._

"So Jack Crow opened your eyes to what's really going on out here, huh?" Sam finally said something.

Guiteau gave him an embarrassed smile for a moment. "Yes. Before Jack I'd only read and studied about vampires. It was a whole different ballgame to come face to face with one. Jack's and my relationship was a rocky one to begin with. He was a unique individual. I had to earn his respect and trust, but once I did, my life was never the same or dull."

Before either brother could press him for more details about Jack Crow and the Vatican Guardians, Dean's cell phone in his back pocket went off loudly. He had set the ring tone back to _Smoke on the Water_, by Deep Purple, one his beloved seventies rock bands. It's deep bass and grooving beat echoed throughout the kitchen. It startled everyone, including its owner, and effectively killed the conversation.

"Sorry," Dean apologized. "I'd better check and see who it is." He slipped it out of his pocket, quickly checked the caller id, and saw that it was a very familiar number. "It's Bobby. I'd better take it. Excuse me." He jumped up from the table and flipped the phone open, saying hello.

"Where in the hell have you boys been?" Bobby's voice blared through the ear piece, his hick accent strong. "I was startin' to worry about ya. Are you two all right?"

As Dean walked out of the kitchen and out of a backdoor leading to the side of the ranch house, he said, "Yeah, Bobby we're fine. The job was a piece of cake," he lied.

"That's a load of crap if I ever heard one," was Bobby's heated reply. "You two knuckleheads took on a Gorgon. What happened?"

Dean filled Bobby in, bringing him up to speed about their current situation. He only left out that Jade and Father Guiteau worked for the Vatican. They had trusted him and Sam with their real affiliation, and he wasn't going to betray that trust, yet. If they okayed it, he would tell Bobby everything later. Dean simply talked about them as if they were another set of hunters like he, Sam, and Bobby himself.

"You're lucky that you had someone smarter than you to come in after you then," was Bobby's comment when Dean was done with his explanation.

"You're the one who gave us the wrong info on how to kill the damn thing, Bobby," Dean said, not wanting to take all the blame for their predicament. "Your sources suck, dude."

Bobby sighed heavily on the other end. "Fine," he relented. "I'm just glad someone out there had the correct information on how to kill the friggin' thing."

"Me too," Dean agreed; he was still stoked about being free from his stone prison. "Hey, did you have another reason to call besides wanting to chew our asses out?"

"Watch your tone, son," Bobby admonished Dean, "but yeah. I have some bad news."

"Great," Dean said sarcastically. "Make my day, Bobby. What's up?"

Dean heard the shuffling of many papers on Bobby's end of the phone. "All the signs are pointing to another seal being ready to be broken. There's been all kinds of demonic omens; crops dying, cattle deaths, lighting storms, tidal waves, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, you name it."

"Where?" Dean asked full of apprehension.

"Here in the States and all over Europe. This is big, Dean, really big. Something heavy duty is gonna go down," Bobby said ominiously.

"Do you know what the seal is? Can we stop it?" Dean fired off his questions.

"All I have is a damn riddle," Bobby's voice was thick his frustration. "I can't make heads or tails of it. I've translated it from its archaic Greek form, but it doesn't make a lick of sense."

Dean thought for a moment before he answered. "Can you scan it and email to us?" he then asked. "Maybe Sammy and I, along with our new friends can have a crack at it."

Bobby scoffed. "If _I _can't figure it out, how do you think _you're_ gonna be able to figure it out, Dean."

Slightly offended that Bobby thought so little of his skills, Dean said, "Maybe you need fresh eyes to look at it, Obi Wan. Sam's a college boy; he's got some brains in that big head of his. Plus, these new guys aren't stupid, Bobby, and neither am I."

"Sorry, son. I know you boys aren't dumb," Bobby said sounding a little chagrined. "I'm just tired right now. If your new friends can be trusted, and they were smart enough to figure out how to truly destroy a Gorgon, they might be able to solve this damned riddle with you. I'll send it to Sam's account. Let me know what you come up with."

"Sounds good, Bobby," Dean replied. "Thanks, and we'll keep in touch."

"Just be careful, ya idgyots," Bobby said the last affectionately, making Dean smile despite himself.

"You too, big B," Dean told him. "Talk to you later." Dean then flipped his phone closed and headed back into the house and the kitchen.

All heads turned in his direction as he entered. Jade had been right beside the door and had to move back as to not be hit by it when Dean walked through. She had obviously been eavesdropping on his conversation with Bobby. _So much the better_, Dean thought silently, _she'll know firsthand that I didn't betray her._ He merely nodded to her. Jade, to her credit, looked a little ashamed, but it was quickly replaced by a steely gaze. Again, Dean felt his attraction to her flare. She oozed anger, fire, and danger, and that could sometimes be an attraction for him.

"Hey ya, Sammy, go get your laptop and get it booted up," Dean instructed as he sat himself back down at the table, to Guiteau's right.

Sam gave Dean a funny look, but then it seemed to dawn on him what the phone call from Bobby could have meant. "Dude, did Bobby have a job for us or something?" he asked.

Dean didn't fail to notice that Sam had cleaned his plate. It was good to know his little brother had a healthy appetite. It made Dean feel better about Sam's normalcy; that things were all right.

"You could say that," Dean replied as Sam rose from his seat.

Dean was watching Jade out of the corner of his eye as she walked back over to her previous seat at the table. She was subtly attuning her attention to his and Sam's conversation. Dean found himself liking all the nice lines and curves her body made when it moved; like a lioness. Even her guns were sexy. Dean realized that her hair wasn't as dark as he had though last night. It looked more chestnut in color.

"Anything we can help with?" Father Guiteau offered curiously, which earned him another stern look from Jade. Dean tried not to smile; it was like the padre was purposely trying to needle her, get under her skin.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd ask," Dean responded with honestly. "I think this job is gonna to be a little more than Sam and I can handle on our own." This earned him a surprised look from Sam as he left the kitchen to go retrieve his little computer.

Jade had her eyebrows raised at him, showing her own surprise at his words as well, but she said nothing. The padre just looked expectantly at Dean, waiting for him to continue.

Dean cleared his throat nervously; he really wasn't used to asking for help. "Um, Bobby just informed me that he thinks that demons are gonna try to bust another seal soon," he cut right to the point. It was so nice, for once, not to have to convince or explain everything to someone.

"Does he know where?" Jade was quick to jump on this news.

Dean slumped his shoulders. "That's the problem. Bobby said that the demonic omens were all over the place, including Europe. All he has to go off of is some stupid riddle he translated from Greek. He's emailing it to Sam and me now."

"And you thought we could help with our expanded resources, is that it? That you could pick our brains a little?" Guiteau said with a small smile.

"Hell, why not?" Dean asked, throwing his arm and hand up in the air and then backward. "You're here; we're here. We might as well see what we can come up with together. You guys are supposed to be bad-assed experts, anyway. Bobby said this was BIG, like all caps big, so the seal must be a really important one."

"Keeping it intact would be to our advantage," Guiteau admitted.

"Very much so," Dean told him adamantly.

"I think it would be wise to work together on this one," Guiteau said. "Let's move into the dining room," he then suggested, rising from the table. "I've got all my equipment set up in there. Sam can set up his computer in there too, if he wants."

"Sounds good to me," was Dean's comment, now smiling at the deepening scowl on Jade's face. She wasn't happy about any of this, that was clear, but she was having to go along with the priest. That was interesting to Dean, very interesting indeed.

It made him wonder if Guiteau was aware of her warning threat to him. Then he wondered if that was why Sam was so antsy around her. _Did she pay baby brother a visit too? _he thought to himself. _It must have been one hell of a visit._

Just as Sam came back into the kitchen, he found the rest of them heading back toward the dining room from where he'd just come. He grabbed Dean's arm and held him back for a moment, wanting to talk to his older brother.

"Why are you all gung-ho to team up all of a sudden?" Sam demanded with a furrowed brow. "Weren't _you_ the one who didn't want to trust these people? Wasn't it _you_ that had issues about them?" Dean could tell by Sam's tone that he was clearly upset.

"And weren't _you_ all Johnnie Cochran defending them and wanting to work with them last night?" Dean questioned back in a hushed and annoyed voice.

"Yeah, well things change," was all Sam said.

"Well, they did for me too," Dean whispered.

"Why?" Sam wanted to know, his eyes troubled, confused.

"Because Cas told me not to," was Dean's bitter reply.

"So were gonna do a job with these strangers, because an angel told you not to?" Sam's anger was thick in his voice. "Don't you think he had good reason to tell you that?"

Dean narrowed his eyes at Sam. "Maybe if he would've told me the reason and not gone all Agent Smith on me, I might listen. As it is, he gave me squat, so I want to find out more for myself. I hate to admit it Sammy, but we need their help on this one. It's a seal were talking about here. Our track record with stopping Lilith and her demonic dream team hasn't been the best in that department."

They had only been able to stop one seal so far; many had been broke already. Dean could see from the expressions on Sam's face that he was going through all the pros and cons about working with the Vatican Guardians.

"Fine," he told Dean. "We'll give it a try, but we need to be careful."

"I said we'd work with them, Sam, we don't have to trust them," Dean informed his brother.

Sam simply nodded in agreement, then turned around and looked to Guiteau for a place to set up his laptop. The padre showed him a place next to him at the dinning room table. It didn't take Sam long to boot up and pick up the wireless connection Guiteau provided him with. He started immediately to get into his email account he had created just for passing on hunting information.

Dean saw Jade sitting at her own laptop at the other end of the table and couldn't resist coming to stand behind her and look at her screens over her shoulder; she had three hooked up to it. He had to squeeze by a beautifully carved, dark wood china cabinet to do so. Jade's set up was beyond cool. She could look at multiple sites, on multiple screens, in multiple windows. Guiteau had the same set up, except he had touch screens and four monitors; Jade was still using a keyboard and wireless mouse.

"Wow," he found himself saying before he knew it, and letting out a low, appreciative whistle.

"Impressed, Hell Boy," she seemed to purr. It sent a shiver down Dean's spine; a delightful one.

"Uh, yeah," he said dumbly.

"You should be," was all she said, and he heard the smirk in her voice.

"I've received Bobby's email," Sam then announced. "I've pulled it up."

"Send it to my system," Guiteau instructed him. "It will scan and analyze the information and help us extrapolate its meaning. Did he send you the original too or just his translation?"

Sam scrolled through the attachments for a moment before answering. "It looks like both," he said.

"Excellent," Guiteau proclaimed. "That will be extremely helpful. I'll send a copy to you too, J.C. You can work on it from your angle."

Jade just nodded her confirmation, but said to Dean, "Pull up a chair, Hell Boy, if you know what's good for. I don't mind that you want to see what's going on, but I can't stand someone standing over my shoulder like that."

"Sorry," Dean said, but not really meaning it. It was nice to know that he could bug her.

He grabbed another dark wooden chair and pulled it up along side Jade. As he sat down, his leg accidently brushed up against hers. It sent tingles up his leg and to other parts of his anatomy, surprising him. His pulse rate galloped, and he felt flushed suddenly, so he tried to act naturally. Glancing slightly at Jade, he noticed a little more color in her cheeks too. _Is she into me? _he thought with a smile that he quickly hid. _I will _so_ use that against her if she is._

As Bobby's email to Sam came up on Guiteau's and Jade's computers, Dean heard the priest whistle in appreciation; just like Dean had a few moments ago. "Wow, this is really old," he said in awe.

"Like how old?" Dean asked, squinting to see the old piece of parchment on one of Jade's screens. It did appear to be very discolored and worn. The edges were frayed, parts were crinkled, places were smudged, and some sections even looked a little burned.

Guiteau adjusted his scholarly glasses looking more intently at one of his screens. "The Greek looks positively ancient, like fourth century B.C."

"B.C.?" Dean parroted, not sure that he had heard the padre right.

Sam, being the well-rounded college student he was, caught the significance of that time frame. "You mean like during Alexander the Great's time era?" he inquired of Guiteau.

"Exactly so," Guiteau answered. "If your friend was able to translate this at all, let alone translate it correctly, he will put some of our best academics to shame."

Dean and Sam shared a knowing, but also a surprised look, across the long table from each other. They knew Bobby was good, but sometimes it was really scary how good he really was and how much he really knew.

"Yeah, Bobby never ceases to amaze us," Dean said with a little pride in his voice.

"I will definitely have to meet this friend of yours," Guiteau said excitedly. "Give me a few minutes to check over his translation, but so far I think it's spot on."

Now Dean did let a smile present itself on his face in pure satisfaction. Bobby was helping to prove that one didn't need to be a paid Vatican employee to be a good hunter. Jade was scowling again, obviously not please at the news, and she glared at her screen with dark eyes. Dean felt his smile grow even wider as he observed her.

Sam was absorbed in the email, reading Bobby's notes that came along with it, so he missed Dean's Cheshire Cat grin, to Dean's disappointment. Finally, Dean decided to get serious too and started to investigate the contents of the email. He skipped the Greek version and went straight to studying the translation. Jade had conveniently split the image on one screen so that one side showed the Greek source material, and the other showed Bobby's typed up version.

Dean found himself reading it out loud, as if that would help it make more sense to him. "At first upon entering the dark and impenetrable woods, courage will fail you." He paused after the first line. "That sounds like a starting point for something, a location. But to what? What's the seal? Are we going to have to go on a snipe hunt for it? And more importantly how are the demons gonna break it?"

"Keep reading, Dean," Sam coached.

The elder Winchester eyed Sam warily, but did has he was told. He turned his attention back to the words on the screen. "If you do not abandon all hope, seven layers of descending showers will greet you. Here proving that you value others above yourself, you will find a clue to an ancient, ice-formed tarn." He paused again to ask, "What in the hell is a tarn?" That word had totally thrown him. "Did Bobby translate that right?"

"It's an old-fashioned word for a pond or perhaps a lake," Jade informed him smugly. "Doesn't everyone know that?"

Dean pettily mimicked her, but only mouthing the words and not actually speaking them. Jade's smile turned snide and she laughed harshly at him. "I guess we all didn't get a first-rate education, hmmm?" Her tone was mocking now.

"Sam went to Stanford mind you," Dean boasted. "Did you know what a tarn was, Sammy?" he then asked of Sam.

"Yeah," Sam replied with a smile of his own. "I actually did, Dean."

"See, at least one of us is as smart as you seem to think you are," Dean threw back at Jade.

"Just keep reading, please," Guiteau interrupted the playground antics.

Dean turned back once more to the translation. "But beware the malevolent being lurking beneath the surface." He stopped and then commented, "That doesn't sound good." Then he went back to reading. "If your heart and mind do not deceive you, you will come face to face with a great and fiery hollow bowl." He stopped again. "What the crap? I can see what Bobby meant. This is nonsense."

"Dean," Sam warned.

"Okay, okay," Dean relented and continued on again. "By taking a leap of faith you will be led to the place where a mighty liquid cut a cavity into the earth. This is the place where you will find the keeper of the sacred light, the true king of beasts in all its glory. Remember the warning that only the worthy may seek this prize and bask in its majestic presence; only the pure in heart." He ended with another comment. "This is wacked."

"It will definitely take some time to decipher, but I think your initial instincts were right, Dean," the padre then told him.

"How so?" Dean asked, curious the priest agreed with him.

"Finding the source of the seal will indeed be a true hunt, in every sense of the word," Guiteau replied, rubbing his bearded chin. "There's some mythology involved here I think too, something the ancient Greeks of Alexander the Great's time held very sacred. I don't think this will be easy at all. I have the feeling it will take all our resources, along with your and Sam's help. We must converge and join forces if we want to beat the demons this time."

TBC…

* * *

So now that there's a seal at stake, the two groups are going to have to join forces. Things could get pretty interesting. And what is with that ancient Greek riddle? The boys are defying the angels again, hmmm? Will that cause problems later on? Keep reading. Let me know how this story is hitting you. Thanks.


	5. Chapter 5:The Discovery

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the rights to the Supernatural universe or its characters. That honor goes to Warner Bros. and Wonderland Sound and Vision, along with Eric Kripke and associates. I also don't own any of the rights to the John Carpenter's Vampires universe or its characters. That honor goes to Sony Pictures and Largo Entertainment, along with Don Jakoby, John Carpenter, and author John Steakley. I am just borrowing the characters and their mythology for fun and not for profit.

**Author's Note:** This chapter deals with the boys and their new friends trying to figure out what the seal they need to protect actually is. I also included a little flashback scene to show Jade's relationship with her father; a way to get to know her character. She has a secret agenda that Guiteau doesn't even know about. See how it all hits you. Reviews would be appreciated for a little feedback. Thanks so much to dreadedfemale for her betaing for me. Thanks also to Garideth and SPN Mum for their latest reviews. You guys rock!

**Rated T:** For language; a little swearing.

* * *

**Chapter 5  
**

**The Discovery**

"What other kind of info did Bobby send in his email, Sam?" Dean then demanded. "I mean, like where did he get this crazy-assed, fluffy piece of sucky poetry?"

"It's actually not a poem, Dean. It's more like a gigantic, ancient brain-teaser," Sam informed his brother.

"Whatever," Dean said, rolling his eyes. "What else did Bobby send?"

Sam breathed out a lung full of air, and then said, "He says he ran across this ancient prophecy while researching about possible seals. At first he disregarded it as crap, but something made him come back to it."

"What was that?" Jade now asked, looking intently at Sam.

Sam felt his cheeks warm at her scrutiny. He wished she wouldn't watch his every move like a hawk; it unnerved him. "Another hunter, a Josiah Wells, ran into a demon ranting about destroying a symbol of light. That once that seal was broken, it would pave the way for the powers of darkness to flood the earth."

"Don't they tend to do that already?" Dean said glibly.

Sam laughed lightly, concurring with his older brother. "You'd think, but I guess that according to Bobby, this will be a hundred times worse. We can barely fight what's out there now. Imagine if this seal breaks, and we'll have all that new evil we'll have to deal with."

"It would make our jobs that much harder," Guiteau put in. "So Bobby went back to this Greek prophecy because it mentioned 'the keeper of the sacred light', I presume?" he then asked of Sam.

"Yeah. The Greek scholars of Alexander the Great's time spoke a lot about it," Sam continued. "Bobby says that Alexander himself went seeking it, trying to gain more power and glory, but was never able to locate it. According to some of the sources Bobby found, half of Alexander's conquering and adventuring was inspired by his search for this thing. It was why he wanted to press into India before his army turned on him."

"He thought this light bearer was in India?" Guiteau pondered.

"I guess so," Sam replied, "but many historians since then have thought that he was way off."

"If one of the greatest generals in history couldn't find this thing, what makes us think that we can?" Dean said, sounding pessimistic. "And what the hell is it? Not an angel I hope?" he added.

Jade actually chuckled at that comment. "I highly doubt that, Hell Boy," she said through her laughter. "But I can see where that idea would pop into that one track brain of yours."

Sam watched Dean give Jade a very heated look. _Leave it to Dean to take one track brain to a whole new level, gutter style, _Sam thought disgustedly.

Jade seemed to get Dean's implication, saying, "Not gonna happen, Hell Boy, even if I like the shape of your ass."

"J—a-d-e," Guiteau drew out her name. "Knock it off. It's getting old."

"Give me time, sweetheart," Dean said with swagger. "You'll come around."

"Maybe when Hell freezes over. Oh wait, that'll never happen," Jade bantered back.

"Can we please get back to our current problem?" Guiteau said, exasperated.

Jade's mood shifted instantly; she was all business again, totally ignoring Dean. "I say we feed the translation into our home database system and let the computers do the all the hard work. It would take us weeks to sort through all the possible geographical locations. Let's plug in the riddle's descriptions and see what matches our computers can come up with. They can find topography that lines up with all the wording. They can dig through all the possible synonyms for what those landmarks mentioned might actually be as well."

Sam, despite himself, liked where Jade was going with her idea. "Yeah, like figuring out what a 'descending shower' is. I'd say something like a waterfall, but I could be wrong. You really have a search database that would be able to figure out what all the different possible markers might be?"

"We do," Guiteau answered. "Plus, many, many people that can sift through information like that very quickly. Do you mind if we employ those strategies now?"

"Go for it," Dean replied eagerly. "I have a feeling that Lilith is probably already moving on this. We need to catch up as quickly as possible."

"Agreed," said Guiteau as he packaged up the Greek and English versions of the riddle and entered them into his connection to the Vatican's main frame. He also typed in a lot of the background information that Bobby had included in the email. "Hopefully, this will happen swiftly, but it might take some time."

"Then, let's focus on and do our own research right now on what 'the keeper of the sacred light' could be, like Dean was wondering about," Sam suggested. "The riddle also mentions a 'true king of beasts'. I think that's the key to what the seal is. Maybe we can figure out what that could be. I'm guessing it has to be something we can find in lore and mythology, but that might it be based on something real."

"Good thinking, Sammy," Dean praised, and then he grew thoughtful. He leaned back in his chair, like he was racking his brain for something that was prickling the edge of his awareness.

He got a constipated look on his face, and Jade teased him with, "Don't strain yourself, Hell Boy. I know thinking must be hard for you."

"Watch it, Warrior Princess, I might just pop you one for fun," Dean threatened half-heartedly.

"Go ahead and try it," Jade bit out. "It'll be the last thing that you ever do."

Sam thought she sounded like Dean as she spoke; it was creepy. It was like they were cut from the same cloth or came out of the same mold.

"So anyway," Dean brushed off her warning, "I keep thinking of a lion as the king of beasts. Isn't that what they teach all little kids? I did always like Disney's _The Lion King_," he added.

Sam just shook his head at his brother; he was such a dork sometimes. _And he thinks I'm the geeky one,_ Sam laughed to himself. "I need to do some checking, but I think there are actually conflicting mythologies on that, Dean."

"Really. Huh," was Dean's response.

"I'll hit up Western lore," Guiteau volunteered. "How about you hit up Eastern, Sam?"

"Sure, that's a great idea," Sam said happy to be able to doing something; he felt safe in researching.

"What about us?" Dean asked, indicating himself and Jade.

"We can concentrate on the symbol of light topic," Jade informed him. "I'll get another keyboard and you can use one of my screens. You know, make yourself useful."

"Alright," was all he said, surprising Sam.

_Dean hates research. He agreed to that too easily. What's up with that? _Sam wondered.

* * *

It wasn't five minutes into researching when Jade spotted Dean's head starting to droop. She watched him nod off, jerk awake, only to have his eyelids start to close again. She was both amused and annoyed; the feelings battling inside her. Jade couldn't really blame him for falling asleep. She knew they were all bone-tired and nice and full from Father Guiteau's grand meal. Jade could even feel the effects of jetlag making her own eyes a bit heavy.

Her mind started to wander off her researching task— never the best use of her skills anyway—and she found her thoughts turning to ponder the Winchester brothers. They weren't what she had expected. All of the reports and intelligence gathered only told half of the story about them. They were much more professional and skilled for one, although she would rather eat a burning hot coal than admit that fact. She thought they would appear more hardened, worn, or weathered. Instead, they looked like your average college kids, especially Sam. A part of her thought that they looked like Abercrombie & Fitch catalog models instead of supernatural slayers.

Some of the hearsay in the files went as far as making Sam Winchester out to be the Anti-Christ or something worse. Sam sure didn't seem anything like that to Jade, but she had learned from bitter experience that looks could be very deceptive. He was obviously passionate about being a hunter. The way both he and Dean had so adamantly defended what they did and why they did it had impressed her; not an easy feat, for Jade did not impress easily. Something had nagged at her that these two couldn't be the big bringers of doom that so many thought that they were.

She had been ordered to gank both of them as soon as she had laid eyes on them by the Council. This was something that Father Guiteau had no knowledge about, and Jade wasn't ever going to share it with him either. Something had stayed her hand, however, made her stop and disobey orders for the first time in a long time. She had then decided to issue both brothers a warning, put them on notice, and see for herself whose side they were really on. She was trained to be a killer, an assassin of the supernatural, a slayer by trade. Killing humans, unless they were outright evildoers or humans possessed so completely that they were beyond any help, was not high on her list of things she liked to do.

Father Guiteau's influence must be rubbing off on her. As she thought more deeply about her motivations, she started to think that maybe it was more than just that. An old regret of her father's kept running through her head. He was the sort of man who had had none, expect this one that ate at him, almost as much as the cancer had. Jack Crow had never voiced it out loud, until one day close to the end of his life, he had spoken of it to his beloved daughter.

Jack had let down his iron guard—a rare occurrence—but it was one thing he had felt safe doing around Jade once in a while. He had needed to confess a crime he felt he had committed. This coming from a man who had to kill his own father, after he had turned into a vampire unexpectedly, killed Jack's mother, and who had then tried to kill Jack. Jade's father had then had to make sure his mother stayed dead as well. That incident didn't weigh on Jack nearly as much as the slaying of his best friend and fellow slayer, Anthony Montoya, had.

Jade had gone to see her father in the large and spacious apartment the Vatican Council had provided Jack with to spend his last days in. He had not wanted to die in a damned hospital. Doctors and nurses had been sent to him to care for him there at the apartment. Seeing her once strong and larger-than-life father, whom she had always thought was invincible, lying in a bed hooked up to various machines with all their tubes and wires, was heartbreaking for her. He had been so pale, gaunt, and wasted looking. It had nearly killed Jade to walk into the bedroom and look at him. Jade relived the conversation in her head.

_"Hey there, Killer," she said softly to stir him._

_ Big, brown, but bloodshot eyes slowly opened to greet her own dark ones. "Hey, sweetheart," he returned weakly. "You finally managed to come see your old man, huh?"_

_ "You know I've been on assignment, Dad," she answered, guilt heavy on her heart. "Adam told me you needed to talk to me as soon as I got back into town, so here I am."_

_ Jack's face molded into one of his characteristic smart-assed looks. "Could you please talk like the American you are, instead of a prissy, candy-assed British prick?" he demanded of his daughter._

_ "Sorry," Jade apologized trying to drop the mixed European-cultured accent she had acquired after the years spent studying in England and Italy. "The Oxford influence is bloody hard to fight," she had joked, purposely using British terminology to bug him._

_ Jack coughed fitfully before he could reply, making Jade wince internally. She had to gulp back a lump in her throat that had suddenly formed there. "Well, don't just stand there, grab a chair and sit down," he commanded, although his wheezing made it lose its authority._

_ Jade decided to comply anyway, dragging a nice, plushy, high-backed, beige chair over to his bedside. "Okay, Dad, what's so bloody important?" she snapped good-naturedly at him._

_ He had rolled his eyes at the adjective in her question. "Kids today have no respect for their elders," he had commented wryly and coughed again. "But seriously," he continued once he could speak again, "I do have something that I need to get off my chest and some last bits of advice that I think that you'll need."_

_ "Don't talk like that, Dad," she admonished him, not wanting to face the truth; he _was_ dying._

_ "We both know that the only way I'm getting out of this bed is in a body bag," Jack told her bluntly; so his style, as tactless as ever._

_ Jade bit her lip and willed the tears in her eyes to go away. She didn't want her father to see any weakness in her; he tended to frown upon it. Instead, she tried to look attentive and nodded for him to go on._

_ "I know that I'm famous or infamous for my bad-ass attitude," he started, making Jade smile, "but I do have one sore spot I can't seem to just will away. Do you remember Montoya?" he then asked in a raspy voice._

_ How could she forget her dad's best friend and her godfather? "Of course," she tried to say neutrally._

_ "You remember that he was bitten, and that I had to hunt him down in Mexico and kill him?" Her father's voice actually cracked as he spoke._

_ "Rule number one," Jade recited automatically. Then she and Jack recounted it together. "If your partner is ever bitten by a vampire, never, ever, let him live."_

_ "Well, that rule bites the big one," Jack almost ranted. "It is so fucked up."_

_ "But at times it is necessary," Jade found herself defending the rule._

_ "Spoken like a true soldier," Jack said in almost a growl. "Or someone who has never had to kill their friend."_

_ Jade had no response to that, so she remained silent. Jack had then continued. "Yes, he was a vampire. Yes, he was a monster. But he was also my compadre. Even when he had been bitten and was turning, he never once let me down. He had my back throughout that whole ordeal with Valek. His only real crime was that he had fallen in love with the whore Valek bit and that we had used to track Valek. Montoya grew very protective of her. Most bloodsuckers don't give a damn about one another, but they were different. Part of their humanity had remained, at least for a time. I _so_ didn't want to see them become mindless, bloodthirsty animals. I _so_didn't want to see them lose their souls."_

_ "But you did hunt them down," Jade added. "You drove stakes through their hearts, cut off their heads, and let the sun turn them into crispy critters. You did what was right, Dad."_

_ Jack looked at her then as distraught as she had ever seen him; it was surreal. "Did I? Did I?" he demanded harshly, causing him to wheeze almost uncontrollably. Once he got his breath again, he said, "It haunts me to this day, Jade. Maybe some rules need to be broken once in a while. Maybe following orders blindly is totally nuts. I was wrong to trust in Cardinal Alba, that fucking turncoat. He was the true evil in that picture, not Montoya."_

_ "And how would you have felt if you had let Montoya and Katrina live, hmm?" Jade then asked. "Knowing that they were feeding off of people, either killing them or turning them into vampires, spreading the evil and its disease?"_

_ Now it was her father's turn to be silent as he contemplated what she had asked. "I get what you are saying, honey, and I've thought about it a lot these past few months. Maybe slaying them _was_ the right choice, but it wasn't a fair one damn it! And don't lecture me about life not being fair, Jade. I, above all people, know how true that is and how inescapable that fact is, but it still sucks. It hurts like hell, and I hate myself because of the choice I made. Montoya was a good man and a true friend; killing him felt and feels like a betrayal."_

_ Jade had been heartsick to learn that Montoya had been bitten and that her dad had had to hunt him down and destroy him. He had mentored her almost as much as her own father had. "You're right, Dad, when you say it was a choice that you should never have had to make. But, we all know the risks that are in our line of work. We all know what can and sometimes does happen. It's all part of the job. You have to realize that."_

_ "This is where the advice comes in, kiddo," Jack announced, and then coughed and hacked. "Not all of the things in this world are as black and white as the Council would like us to believe. Even though Montoya became a vampire, I never let him prove that he could fight the beast within. He may have been able to find another way to survive and not have feed on humans. He may have been strong enough to overcome the baseness of his condition."_

_ "But weren't you the one that has always said that the only good vampire is a fried one?" Jade questioned in shock at her father's reasoning; it wasn't like him. "Weren't you the one who said they're all bat-shit crazy, ferocious animals? What's changed you mind?"_

_ "Anthony Montoya," was Jack's answer. "Just remember, Jade, don't be as quick as I was to judge people and situations. Things aren't always what they seem. Just because someone looks like a monster doesn't mean they are one, and just because someone looks good on the outside doesn't mean that they are on the inside. Look behind the façade you see on the surface."_

_ Jade sat back in her chair, blown away by what her father had told her. She could see the sadness and his sincerity in his eyes as he spoke; he meant what he said. Even thought it was out of character, and maybe because it was out of character, she knew she would never forget his words. That was one of the reasons she had decided to not get too close to people, for she feared having to slay them to save them. _

* * *

Sam slowly became aware of his surroundings once more. He felt his face laying down on a hard surface, and he felt really stiff. As his eyes snapped open, he realized he had fallen asleep at the dining room table. He slowly righted himself, having to wipe at the corner of his mouth; he'd drooled a little in his sleep. His face grew warm as embarrassment washed over him. He hoped Jade and Guiteau didn't think he was a lazy idiot. Once minute he had been looking through Eastern lore on what animal was considered "the true kind of beasts" and the next minute he had passed out.

"Welcome back to consciousness, Sam," Father Guiteau said with amusement in his voice.

"I'm so sorry," Sam hurried to apologize, looking around in panic. "I didn't mean to zonk out like that."

The padre laughed merrily. "Don't feel too bad, son," the priest told him. "You weren't the only one." He then indicated with one of his arms, gesturing toward where Dean and Jade were sitting.

Both of them were out cold too. Dean had slumped forward, much like Sam had onto his keyboard and the dining room table. He was snoring softly. Jade was leaning back in her chair, her neck at an odd downward angle, sound asleep as well. Sam felt his embarrassment ease as a small smile played at his lips. He didn't feel so bad anymore; it appeared everyone had dozed off.

"I guess we were all more tired than we thought, huh?" Sam asked of Guiteau.

"I'd say," was Guiteau's response. "I think I even closed my eyes for a few moments here and there."

"How long have we been napping?" Sam then inquired.

"About four hours," Guiteau said, his face breaking out into a huge grin.

"You're kidding?" Sam asked incredulously. "Wow."

The padre chuckled. "I don't blame any of you. Last night was a rough one on all of us. A little sleep is warranted."

Sam then had another question to ask as he shifted from side to side working the kinks out of his back and neck. "Did you find anything yet?"

"Yeah, I did actually, as a matter of fact, but I want to see if Eastern lore supports my findings," Guiteau informed Sam.

Suddenly, a little excited to be getting somewhere, Sam got a new spurt of energy. "What does Western lore say?" he wanted to know.

Guiteau touched a few places on one of his screens as he said, "Come and take a look for yourself, Sam. You won't believe it."

Now the padre had really piqued Sam's interest, and he quickly left his seat and came to stand next to the priest. He focused his attention on the three websites Guiteau had up on the screen, having divided it into thirds vertically. He swiftly scanned each section, his eyes widening in complete surprise.

"This is serious?" he asked, doubt dipping from his voice. "Really?"

"As a heart attack," Guiteau cracked.

Sam read one of the websites summaries out loud. "The Lion and the Unicorn have been traditionally considered rivals and natural enemies, although there has been no evidence to suggest through the tales that they represent good and evil. At both times they have been called the lord of all beasts. Their ways of ruling, however, are totally different. One an extrovert and the other an introvert, one fiery and one cool, they represent opposite principles…" He stopped there unable to continue.

"I got some of this information from historians studying the reign of James I of England," Guiteau explained its origin, "which led me to other stories and histories. One account even associates astrological symbols to the Lion and the Unicorn. The Lion is a well established solar symbol, while the Unicorn is a lesser accepted lunar symbol."

"You're saying that the seal has something to do with a unicorn?" Sam demanded, his eyebrows flying upward. _This is wacked, _he thought to himself, stealing a line from Dean.

"It looks like it," Guiteau said patiently.

"A freakin' unicorn?" Sam asked again.

His voice had risen in enough volume to wake Dean. He started, banging his knee on the underside of the table. "Ow!" he cried. "What the hell, Sammy?" he then hissed through clenched teeth.

Dean's exclamation also woke Jade, who stood up too fast and had to grab the edge of the table as to not black out. "What happened?" she asked, trying to shake the fog of sleep from her mind.

"Sam and I might have found the subject of our seal," Guiteau said, not mincing words.

"I don't know about that," Sam put in. "It sounds a little hokey to me."

"That's why I need you to check and see if Eastern lore has anything similar mentioned in it," Guiteau told Sam. "If more than one culture has the same lore, then we may be on the right track. Also, if Jade and Dean can find anything related to the symbol of light going along with the same lore, then we'll know."

Dean and Jade observed the exchange between Sam and the padre in total confusion, both frowning and sharing a shrug as they glanced at each other. "What are you two book geeks talkin' about?" Dean finally demanded.

Sam thought about answering his brother, but then bit his tongue. He was not about to be the one to let the cat out of the bag and give Dean something to tease him mercilessly about for months or years to come; not like the time before Dean believed in angels. Once on a job, a vengeful spirit had taken to impersonating an angel to get people to kill evildoers. When Sam had mentioned that there was more lore on angels than most of the others things that they hunted, Dean had scoffed and used unicorns as a point in case. There was a lot of lore written about them too, but both brothers knew that they didn't exist. They were some children's fairy tale. Now, however, they might just have to revise their thinking once again.

Guiteau, thankfully, answered for Sam. "We might be looking for a unicorn," he stated simply.

"A what?" Dean exclaimed.

"A u-n-i-c-o-r-n," Guiteau said slowly and distinctly.

"Adam, that can't be right," Jade told him. "The Church has declared unicorns mere fiction, fantasy. They never really existed."

"Well, it looks like that declaration might prove to be premature," Guiteau shot back.

"Oh, come on," Dean sighed in exasperation. "There's no such thing as a unicorn. Everybody knows that. There has never been any documented proof. "

Sam couldn't help but come to Guiteau's aid, even though he was still having a hard time buying into the notion as well. "You said that about angels too, Dean, and look how that turned out."

Dean just glared at his brother, not having a pithy comeback. Sam went and sat back down and immediately started his search for unicorns in Eastern lore and to see if anything mentioned them being "the true king of beasts". It didn't take long for him to get multiple hits, having a more concrete subject to search for this time. Dean, determined to put an end to this new nonsense, started his own search for animal symbols of light to see if anything about a unicorn came up. Jade walked over to Father Guiteau and perused his screens.

After about an hour of researching, Sam had located something very interesting and just as shocking. "I found something," he let everyone in the room know. "Eastern lore supports Father Adam's theory."

"You gotta be kiddin' me," Dean groaned.

"Nope," Sam replied. "There's a tale from the Middle East that talks about the Lion and the Unicorn too, battling to be the king of beasts."

"What does it say?" Guiteau asked with excited curiosity.

Sam cleared his throat and read. "The Lion and the Unicorn chased each other across the heavens from the dawn of time. For fourteen years the Lion chased after the Unicorn through the stars, but it pulled away and circled around. Then for the next fourteen years it was the Unicorn who chased the Lion, slowly but steadily, gaining, closing the distance between them with its horn growing ever more sharp and deadly. In despair the Lion came to earth and plunged into a forest with the Unicorn close behind, its horn lowered for the kill. Suddenly an enormous tree stood in their path. The Unicorn, seeing the danger too late, charged straight on and buried its horn to the hilt in the tree's trunk. While the Unicorn was pinned, the Lion crept up from behind and devoured him."

"Cool," Dean commented.

Sam ignored him. "Some of the other versions of this story reverse the outcome and the Unicorn impales the Lion before he can reach the tree. It looks like it was an ancient way to describe the phases of the moon and a solar eclipse, according to some scholars," Sam then explained.

"How does a lion and a unicorn chasing each other tell somebody anything about what the moon does every month?" Dean asked. His brow furrowed and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

Sam decided to educate his brother. "Well," he said, and then launched into a detailed explanation. "Each month, at some point, the new moon—the symbol for the Unicorn—looks like it is chasing the sun across the sky—the symbol for the Lion. The moon falls further and further behind, but it waxes as it does so, getting bigger and bigger. Eventually, the moon actually looks like it is charging back toward the sun from the opposite direction, all the while it is waning. It's 'crescent' horn at this point looks like it is growing sharp and slender. Then the sun appears to devour the moon because it seems to disappear from the sky for a few days, awaiting 'rebirth'.

"Now on the occasion of a solar eclipse, the reverse happens or the tables are turned so to speak. This is because the sun appears to briefly 'die' in the sky as the moon covers it," he concluded.

"Okay, thank you, Mr. PhD," Dean teased lightly.

"Hey, you asked, I told," Sam quipped back.

"It also supports the idea of a unicorn being a light bearer, being linked to the moon like that," Father Guiteau piped up. "Did you find anything else related in your searches, Dean? Jade?" he then asked.

Jade had retaken her seat next to Dean, and she answered first. "I started with Christian symbols of light as a place to launch a search from."

Dean was quick to share too. "I just went for searching for animal symbols myself," he said, cocking an eyebrow at Jade.

"And what did you find?" Guiteau prompted, trying to get them going.

"Unicorns are definitely an animal symbol of light, purity, and good fortune," Dean said quickly to speak first, ahead of Jade.

Jade glared at Dean for interrupting her own report. "Same here," she said. "Unicorns symbolize light, strength, purity, and even Christ himself. Some of the Christian historians and mythologists place unicorns in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. Others even say Noah either forgot to include them on the arc or kicked them off for some reason. They appear throughout Christian and also Jewish history."

"I can top that," Dean announced smugly. "Not only are unicorns apparently sacred animals to Western and Christian cultures, but many others as well. The Chinese thought so, although the form of the unicorn differs a bit. I also found obscure back-in-the-day Ethiopian legends dealing with them too."

Sam shook his head. He had a feeling that the only reason that Dean was working this hard at researching was to try and best Jade. Dean had a very competitive streak in him, and even though Dean didn't believe in unicorns, now that he'd felt Jade had challenged him, he was in hardcore competition mode. That could be good or bad depending on what the outcome ending up being.

"So all the lore we've found so far is supporting Father Adam's original theory," Sam then said. "The demons are going to go after a unicorn to bring more darkness into the world." Even as Sam said it, he wanted to laugh. _This can't be the seal, it's too far out_, he thought.

"Oh, this is ridiculous," Jade declared. "The Church only merged the myth of the unicorn to Christ and the Virgin Mary to help itself appeal to more pagans during the Middle Ages. Unicorns _are not_ real."

"I hate to agree with Lara Croft here," Dean mocked Jade, "but unicorns _don't_ exist. I just can't buy into that. Sorry."

Father Guiteau looked from Jade to Dean to Sam with expectant eyes. "What about you, Sam?" he finally asked, returning his gaze back to the younger Winchester.

"I really…um…I really don't know…what to think," Sam said hesitantly. "I'd like to believe in them. They are fascinating creatures; ones born from man's hopes and dreams, instead of his fears and nightmares. From all the lore on unicorns across many different cultures, you'd think they'd have to be based on something real."

"But come on, Sammy," Dean argued. "By ganking a unicorn demons will get the upper hand? That's really far-fetched, don'tcha ya think?"

The padre turned his attention back to Dean. "One of my favorite authors once said, 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however, improbable, must be the truth,'" he quoted.

"And the existence of unicorns is not impossible?" Dean asked stubbornly.

Sam interrupted Guiteau's answer by saying, "That's Sir Arthur Conan Doyle isn't it?"

"I see you know your classics well," Guiteau replied with a small smile.

"Who's that?" Dean wanted to know.

"Only the author of Sherlock Holmes, Hell Boy," Jade barked at him. "You know, only the most famous detective in the world?"

Sam cut Dean off before he could respond. Here was the perfect chance to make Jade see himself in a different light and point out some of Dean's less than perfect character traits. Maybe she would see him as the educated and sophisticated one, instead of the darker-sided, more evil one. "Dean doesn't read much," he teased, "at least not classical literature anyway. He's more of a Penthouse or Busty Asian Beauties connoisseur."

Dean's head whipped around with lightning speed, and if looks could kill Sam would have been a pile of ash. "Thanks, Sammy. Maybe the nickname, Demon Seed, _does _fit you after all."

That killed Sam's good mood almost immediately, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat with a deep frown on his face.

"Are we really serious about all this crap we've been tossing around?" Dean then asked. "Are we really going to go looking for a friggin' unicorn of all things?"

"No you are not," a new, deep, and monotone voice informed him.

All eyes shot forward to find Castiel, in his beige trench coat, standing in the hallway entrance to the dining room. "You will do no such thing," was his command.

* * *

TBC…

Any thoughts on the revelation of the seal? I really did look up a lot of lore to make it semi-believable. There is more to come to tie it in with the mythos of the show too. And why would Castiel object to them protecting the seal? Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.


End file.
